Same plans, Different Outcomes
by sinisteruto
Summary: Ichigo saves his mother from Grand Fisher but pays a heavy price as he is killed in the process. As if death wasn't enough, things take a turn for the worst as his mother is forced to watch him turn into a hollow. Dark Ichigo and harem.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any other series I might use for inspiration.

 **Author Notes:**

 **Those of you who have read my other abandoned story "New World Order" will probably note some similarities between that story and this one, that is probably because this is a remake of that story, except Ichigo is the main character in this one and this version aint a crossover for the most part, though as is usually the case in my stories, there might be elements of other anime series utilized in this story. I hope you all enjoy the story.**

 _ **Self Made/No Debts**_

"It's been too long now hasn't it, Neliel-sama?"Yin asked with a disturbed expression, clearly not feeling all that secure when it comes to the current situation.

"I agree. It's been way too long. Do you...do you think Ichigo-sama could've...abandoned us?"Yang asked hesitantly, she more than anyone else appalled by the mere insinuation that Ichigo were capable of such a thing yet here she was, unable to help but to wonder.

As twins, Yin and Yang are almost identical in appearance, however, whereas Yang is seen with short red hair, Yin can be seen with longer blue hair that is parted into two pigtails. The remnants of the two arrancar's masks act as some kind of headband, both of which go vertically down the middle of their heads before reaching their eyebrows. The remnants of the masks also act as a sheath to their zanpakuto, both of which a sheathed behind their heads horizontally. Their outfits are exactly the same, typically reminiscent of the white arrancar uniform, a sleeveless white jacket, elbow length gloves, white bracelets on each wrist, sock-like stockings, black high-heeled arrancar themed boots, and short school-girl themed boots. Of these, the skirts, stockings, and gloves are coloured to represent their element, red (fire) for Yang and blue (lightning) for Yin.

"If you don't have anything wise to say then it is best to restrain yourself, Yang-chan."Nel replied with a calm and collected facade, a facade she needed to maintain for as long as possible if the five of them were going to survive long enough to see Ichigo again, and she had no intention of giving up on Ichigo, after all, she, Pesche, and Dondochakka were eternally indebted to him. Ichigo was the one that had not only fixed their masks but had also gone out of his way to help them get stronger. He made sure they were sheltered, that they were fed, and even went so far as to make sure that they were happy. There was no way Ichigo had abandoned them.

"I agree with Neliel-sama, Ichigo-sama would never abandon us. I trust him with every fibre of my being..."Yin trailed off.

"However?"Nel asked perceptively.

"My trust in Muramasa has its limits. What if he has done something to Ichigo-sama? And what about Aizen-teme? It's been almost two weeks now since we defeated his fifth and sixth espada, he'll send stronger warriors next time. If he sends number one or two, will we be able to come out of that encounter unscathed? " Yin inquired with concern, bringing up some valid points that caught everyone's attention with immediate effect.

"I'll admit, I too have my reservations about Muramasa, however, Ichi-kun is no fool, he knew exactly what he was getting into with Muramasa, and therefore, it is my belief that he always had a plan should Muramasa betray us. He would never recklessly put neither us nor himself in danger, that is what my heart tells me."Neliel replied reassuringly, taking a deep breath before continuing where she left off.

"As far as Aizen is concerned, I'm not worried at all. He will never be able to find this place, and even if he could, it would take him too long to find it, Ichi-kun will have already returned by then. Let us say however that Ichi-kun hadn't returned by then, Aizen would still have a lot of trouble bypassing this barrier that surrounds this place, after all, this is some of Ichi-kun's best work. And finally, say Aizen bypasses all of that and gets to us, so what? Aizen sent his men to recruit us, that means that he wants us alive and we are no use to him dead. Therefore, in such a scenario, where we failed to defeat number one and two, or Aizen came to get us himself, we could simply surrender, join Aizen's army, and then use his own resources to find our true leader, Ichi-kun."Nel explained clearly and concisely, her calm and composed facade never once slipping from her facial features.

"Very impressive Nel-sama. You're starting to sound more and more like Ichigo-sama."Pesche replied in that typically irritating tone of his, a tone that made it incredibly difficult to tell whether he was joking or being serious, even whether he was insulting or complimenting you. Pesche is a male arrancar of average height, with blue eyes, long blonde hair and a mask that resembles some kind of horned insect, the mask covering the front top of his head and the left side of his face up to just below the nose area. He, like Neliel, Yin, and Yang is wearing his own custom made version of the arrancar uniform, with arrancar style white hakama pants, black shoes, and long sleeved arrancar top, his zanpakuto held by a rope around his waist.

"That's quite a big compliment Pesche, but unfortunately, there is only one Ichi-kun."Neliel replied solemnly.

"Ya don't have to be him, ya a great leader yaself dontcha know. Ichigo-sama knows this too, that's why he knows he can leave everything up to ya in his absence dontcha know."Dondochakka retorted. He is a very tall and muscular man, standing at a full two metres in height and weighing in at one hundred and thirty five kilograms. He has a light brown skin and wears a standard arrancar outfit with his zanpakuto sheathed on his waste. His mask looks like a typical red tiki mask except that, like Pesche, his mask covers only the left side of his face. The mask is also significantly smaller than the one he wore when Ichigo found them, the current version of it fitting into the mould of his facial features like a glove.

"I disagree. You're a decent leader but you are light years below Ichigo-sama. Ichigo-sama would have never stopped us from killing Grimmjow and he would have never spared Nnoitra of all people."Yang argued, still miffed by the, in her mind, absurd decision that Neliel made two weeks ago.

"We are not animals, and therefore, we shouldn't kill needlessly." Neliel replied.

"How exactly is it needless to kill your enemy?"Yin inquired irritably.

"And while we're at it, why don't you tell us what your relationship with Grimmjow is exactly? The two of you seemed...suspiciously concerned for each other's wellbeing." Yang added salt to the wound.

"My personal life is none of your business."Neliel replied emotionlessly, doing everything in her power not to break under the pressure.

"Personal life? Oh my god you're fucking him aren't you?" Yang exclaimed with a shocked expression, Neliel spotting her own surprised expression, mixed in with a lot of embarrassment, in fact, she couldn't remember a time she was more embarrassed than she was right now.

"That's..."

"Don't you dare deny it. It's written all over your face."Yin cut in swiftly.

"That...that was a long time ago. It was literally over a hundred years ago! I don't judge you about your past so what makes you think you have the right to judge me? About something that happened over one hundred years ago no less!"Neliel retorted defensively, tears falling rapidly down her face, a look of shame and anguish morphing onto her facial features, a look that made Yang regret ever bringing up the issue, but not Yin.

"Nice attempt at downplaying the situation, but we all know that you've had amnesia for one hundred and three of those one hundred years you were gone from Las Noches. That means that for you, it's only been five years since you last saw Grimmjow. And judging by your valiant effort to come to his rescue two weeks ago, I'd say that your feelings for the man are still pretty strong. Your feelings for this man have compromised your position in this family, and I don't even want to go to your failure to exterminate Nnoitra, the man who did unspeakable things to not only you, but to your so called beloved subordinates. You're a bitch in every sense of the aaaargh!"Yin choked on her words as Neliel, with blistering speed caught her by the throat and smashed her through and to the outside of the inner wall of the building.

"How dare you!"Neliel exclaimed with a furious, borderline deranged facial expression, only to receive a kick to the side of the head from Yin's twin sister, sending her skidding across the surface of the earth before quickly regaining her bearings, coming to a complete halt as she assumed a threatening stance with her left hand hovering over the hilt of her sword.

"You call almost everyone who fights you a savage, but who is the one trying to resolve her issues with violence now?"Yang spoke on her sister's behalf, Yin still trying to recover from Nel's incredible chokehold as she let out a series of painful coughs.

"I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do, you bitch!"Yin exclaimed with an ugly snarl on her face, pulling out her zanpakuto from its sheath, which was located behind her head, a loud crackling of lightning resonating around the barren land as she snapped the whip attached to the guard of her zanpakutou, a whip made entirely of lightning.

"What is this? I'm gone for barely twelve months and you guys have turned each other into enemies already? It breaks my heart to come back and see you all like this, although I'm glad to be back."A voice that everyone recognised resonated around the hideout as a space-time vortez opened in between Nelliel and the twins but a little to the twins' right hand side and to Neliel's left, the spiralling portal puking out two relatively tall individuals, one everyone recognised as Muramasa and the other a man they didn't recognise at all.

The mysterious figure wore the standard white hakama pants that male arrancar typically wore and black footwear and on his upper body one would see sleeveless white jacket that covers his whole upper body with the exception of his arms, neck, and head, including his hollow hole which was located near the top of his chest. The fragments of his hollow mask were in the form of labret piercing, multiple piercings on each of his ears and a tight fit necklace which was made of small human-like skulls except for the skull in the front middle, that one being a size bigger than the other fragments. Sheathed on his back one would find a gigantic skyscraper of a zanpakuto and strapped to his left hip one would find a significantly smaller, normal sized zanpakuto. Last but not least, the figure spots short, orange, and spiky hair with brown eyes, and seems to have the body of a sex god with all the muscles and toning in the right place, not too big, not to small, just perfect.

"Who the hell is this? And where's Ichigo-sama, Muramasa-baka?"Yang demanded obnoxiously.

"..." was the only response that Muramasa gave, not being a man of many words and seemingly not feeling that the question was worthy of a response. Muramasa is a tall, thin man with pale and shaggy, dark brown hair, two bangs of which cross over the bridge of his nose. His pupils are blood red with a black three pronged shuriken shape in the middle of the pupil and his eyes appear to be circled by spiked purple ovals. The remnants of his hollow mask take the form of a bony face mask covering the lower half of his face and he is wearing a long knee length white coat with a high collar over his outfit. His zanpakuto is sheathed on his hip and his hollow hole can be found around the area where his belly button would be.

"Didn't you hear what she said? Where's Ichigo-sama! Muramasa-teme!"Yin exclaimed with a mixture of anguish and suspicion, afraid that her worst fear since Ichigo-sama had left with Muramasa had come to pass, that Muramasa had indeed betrayed Ichigo-sama and murdered him.

"Geez what's with you guys, I'm standing right in front of you and you can't even tell it's me? I didn't know I had such a forgettable face."The mysterious orange haired teen replied with a mischievious smirk, causing Yin, Yang, Pesche, Dondochakka, and Neliel's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation.

"I...Ichigo-sama...?"Yin and Yang stuttered simultaneously.

"Yin, Yang, I've missed you so much, all of y..."Ichigo was about to say before he was cut off by the twins.

"Ichigo-sama!"The girls exclaimed as they both tackled the young arrancar to the ground, the twins burying their heads at the crook of his neck and squeezing him tight as they cried uncontrollably.

"Ichigo-sama! We missed you so much!"Yin cried.

"We were afraid that you, that y-you...Ichigo-sama! I'm so happy that you're back!"Yang exclaimed with tears of joy.

"Please! Please don't leave us again like that."Yin said desperately.

"Promise me, promise you won't leave us again, please Ichigo-sama. I couldn't bare it!"Yang cried, the two twins looking straight into the eyes of the young arrancar with a look that broke his heart into pieces.

"Yin, Yang, please forgive me. If I had known my absence would cause you this much grief, I would have never left you to begin with. At the very least, I might have taken you with me instead."Ichigo apologised with a heavy heart, his eyes softening considerably as he held on a little tighter to the twins in an effort to symbolize to them how much they meant to him and how close he would keep them to him from now on. The scene was quite touching even to someone like Muramasa, who barely displayed any emotion whatsoever. Pesche and Dondochakka were crying on the sides uncontrollably, muttering about how sweet and touching the scene was and how happy they were that Ichigo had returned and Neliel...Neliel looked like a dear caught in headlights, jealousy, happiness, envy, joy, frustration and even fear, fear of what Ichigo might think of her if he found out about her history with Grimmjow.

In hindsight, Nel couldn't believe how silly and delusional she must have been to have ever thought that she could keep her history with Grimmjow a secret from Ichigo, especially considering how much she had pestered him over the last three years about going to Las Noches with her. Ichigo had always wondered how she could be so determined to go back there after she was discarded the way she was, and she had always defended the place by pointing out the that Nnoitra had done what he did of his own violation and not because of Aizen's orders. When Ichigo asked why she wanted him specifically to join she had refused to tell him the truth, to tell him that she was overflowing with love and lust for him that she couldn't possibly contain any longer, to tell him that his lack of sex organs as a vasto lorde frustrated her to no end. She hadn't told him the truth partially because she was too embarrassed to do so but also partially because she thought it should have been obvious, that she shouldn't have had to even explain herself at that point in their relationship.

So instead of telling Ichigo the whole truth, she had merely pointed out that becoming an arrancar would make him even stronger than he was back then, knowing that all hollows strived to get stronger especially Ichigo, he was practically obsessed with strength and knowledge. It was one of his more endearing character traits, how much time and effort he was willing to sacrifice in order to become strong enough to protect his precious people. Neliiel had always known how selfish her true reasons were for asking ichigo to re-join Las Noches with her, but now she also knew how silly her reasons were considering her history with Grimmjow. Whoever heard of a man, his girlfriend, and her ex living in the same complex. That was a recipe for disaster, especially now that she knew that she wasn't completely over Grimmjow. It wasn't that she thought she would cheat on ichigo, she could never do that to him, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be complications.

Grimmjow is a loud mouth who does and says whatever the hell that he wants, and if he still wanted her, as Nel suspects he would after their recent confrontation, then all hell would break loose. Grimmjow would probably rub his history with her on Ichigo's face every chance that he got and she would have to have her own defences always on alert for a Grimmjow move on her. It certainly wouldn't be a healthy environment for a romantic relationship to bud and she knew it. However, all hell would break lose before she allowed Ichigo to slip out of her fingers, she knew that it was selfish of her, the best thing to do really was to let him go, let him find love elsewhere, let someone else who is more deserving have him, like the twins for example. But she couldn't and wouldn't do that, Ichigo was hers and that was the end of it.

"Hey Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, how are you guys doing, and why are you so quiet, Nel?"Ichigo greeted casually, finally managing to untangle himself from the twins, just long enough to get on his feet before they glomped him again, Yang hanging on to his left arm and Yin to his right.

"Ichigo-sama! It's a pleasure to have you back again sir!"Pesche exclaimed with a goofy military salute, Ichigo rolling his eyes in dismay at the blonde haired arrancar's antics.

"We missed you so much doncha know!"Dondochakka added his own two yen to the table.

"Yeah I gotta admit that I missed you guys too, even as frustrating as you guys can be at times."Ichigo replied with visible sincerity in his eyes and tone.

"Well, I don't know if I can believe that Ichigo-sama, with your handsome new looks and boyish charms, I'm sure you were having too much fun with women of all shapes and sizes to even think about us, you man whore you!"Pesche retorted with an indignant expression, causing a tick mark to appear on Ichigo and the twins' foreheads.

"How dare you Pesche you slime ball! Ichigo-sama would never leave us for a bunch of sluts! Right, Ichigo-sama?"Yang asked with the utmost conviction one could ever see on any woman's face, a puppy eyed expression directed at Ichigo as she waited for him to confirm the truth in her words.

"Of course not! This idiot, as usual, doesn't know what the hell he is talking about."Ichigo bit out with a dangerous glare directed at Pesche.

"Hn! You may have them deceived but you can't fool me. I see right through you, Ichigo-sama! As if a guy would go through a complete makeover like that if it wasn't for the ladies."Pesche argued stubbornly.

"I take back what I said, I didn't miss you at all!"Ichigo retorted furiously.

"Aha! See, your true colours finally come out!"Pesche exclaimed confidently, as if he had just discovered the cure for cancer or something.

"That's enough Pesche."Neliel ordered calmly.

"F-forgive me, Neliel-sama."Pesche apologised sincerely.

' _If that's all it takes to shut him up then why didn't she do that earlier.'_ Ichigo thought with exasperation.

"It's okay, you did after all bring up an important topic of discussion. Please tell us Ichi-kun, how did you get this ummm...makeover? And why do you have two zanpakuto as opposed to one?"Neliel asked the question that was on everyone's mind, Ichigo metaphorically scratching his head in confusion as he wondered why Neliel had such a down and borderline cold mood right at the moment. He'd have expected her to be a little more ecstatic about his return, and an ecstatic Nel was a ditsy and childish Nel. This version of Nel was the serious Nel, and serious Nel meant that it was either serious business time or something was terribly wrong. Nevertheless Ichigo figured he would get a chance to ask her about it soon enough, after all, one doesn't go through such a profound change and not expect to have questions to answer upon his return.

"Well, let me first say that Aizen had nothing to do with it. This transformation is the result of an experiment Muramasa and I undertook post the results of our investigation in the world of the living."Ichigo replied.

"What do you mean Ichigo-sama? What research was this?"Yin and Yang asked consecutively.

"Well, I allowed Muramasa to sift through my memories up to the first time I gained awareness as a hollow. The memories revealed that I first gained awareness in Kurakara Town of japan in the living world, and that there was an orange haired woman and an orange haired child close by. There was also another hollow who goes by the name Grand Fisher which I devoured. Grand Fisher had injured a shinigami female as well before I attacked him. I was about to devour the shinigami female and the two orange haired females when two other souls arrived and rescued them. Of these two souls one was a blond haired man and the other an ebony woman with purple hair. These two souls had spiritual pressure remiscient of a shinigami and the blonde haired male even carried a zanpakuto, but neither seemed to be part of the gotei 13 as they were not garbed in the standard uniform."Ichigo explained.

"What does this have to do with you going to the world of the living?"Yin asked suspiciously.

"You will understand as I tell the story, for now just listen okay?"Ichigo said softly, a reassuring smile plastered on his facial features.

"Okay..."Yin said reluctantly, not really sure she wanted to hear the rest of the story as the potential outcome of this investigation made her feel uneasy, but if Ichigo=sama said it was going to be okay then she would trust him.

"Okay, this man and woman are powerful and they would have easily killed me at the time were it not for my high speed regeneration. Fortunately, they didn't anticipate this and I managed to escape. Long story short, we went to the world of the living to investigate the identity and background of these souls. We found out that the man and woman are Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi. They are former captains of the thirteen court guard squads, two very dangerous individuals. The young orange haired girl is known as Inoue Orihime and from my understanding, the orange haired woman took her in and raised her as her own along with her own two daughters. The name of this woman is Kurosaki Masaki..."Ichigo trailed off, leaving everyone else to put two and two together on their own, though it was more like putting one and one together really given how obvious the inference was.

"D-don't tell me this woman was your wife?" Neliel asked with a look of despair, scared to death that she might have lost her chance with Ichigo forever now, surely he would want to go back to his wife now that he knew about her, her emotions state and subjective view of the situation causing her to temporarily forget the incredible barrier between Ichigo and his _wife_ , said barrier being the fact that Ichigo was a hollow and she was presumably a human.

"No, it turns out that she was my mother, and it turns out that I was only nine years old when I died and turned into a hollow. So you guys are all like, old enough to be my great grandparents."Ichigo said with a small chuckle, figuratively scratching his head again when nobody laughed at his joke, the tension in the atmosphere almost suffocating.

"Hmmm...I guess that wasn't very funny. In any case, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that I have no recollection of my human life and I don't even remotely consider myself to be a human. I'm a hollow and you guys are my family, end of story."Ichigo replied with unwavering conviction and sincerity, everyone visibly relaxing at ichigo's declaration, the tension in the air decipitating mostly, but not entirely.

"I have however discovered that perhaps I was never a human to begin with. Turns out that my biological father when I was human was in fact a shinigami." Ichigo continued, once again much to the shock of everyone present with the exception of Muramasa, so much so that Yin and Yang's grip on his arms loosened considerably, the twins almost letting go completely but their love and devotion overriding their suspicion and wariness, although not entirely.

"Show me your hollow hole."Ying demanded with a stern and uncompromising tone, pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to relax for one second until Ichigo proved that he was still a hollow, despite the fact that his spiritual pressure suggested that that was the case. But you know what they say, seeing is after all, believing.

"It's on my chest, if you could just let go of my arm I could..."Ichigo trailed off as Yin took matters into her own hands, or rather, her own right hand as she unzipped Ichigo's jacket.

"Okay...that's good."Yin, breathing in a huge sigh of relief.

"I agree. However, what does your father from your human life being a shinigami have to do with anything?"Neliel asked curiously, though whether the curiosity on her face was related to the question or Ichigo's god-like physique was another story altogether, the twins not fairing any better themselves, especially considering the close proximity they had with their beloved leader.

"Normally, it would only explain the vast amounts of reiatsu that I have as a hollow and the extent of my potential as a hollow, nothing more and nothing less. This is because the hollow transformation forced the latent shinigami powers I had to become suppressed to such an extent that they are impossible to awaken. However, I happen to have Muramasa as a friend and comrade, Muramasa the former zanpakuto spirit and current arrancar who has the ability to delve into the depths of a soul and not only manipulate and subdue another's zanpakuto spirit, but also to forcefully manifest it. As an arrancar is majority hollow and part shinigami, the release of my zanpakuto spirit allowed me to tap into my shinigami powers, prompting the transformation that I have undergone to become an arrancar. This event also explains the reason why I have two zanpakuto. The small one on my waist contains my ressurrecion and the big one on my back has my shikai and bankai."Ichigo explained patiently, a cocky smirk plastered on his facial features, satisfaction prevalent on his facial features as he observed the awe and surprise in the expressions of his comrades.

"Th...that's amazing ichigo-sama!"Yin yelled as she and Yang re-snuggled into the carrot topped teen's body, revelling in his scent and the warmth that he radiated, though said warmth was an entirely subjective feeling because no enemy or even neutral who felt his spiritual pressure would associate it with anything even remotely related to warmth and comfort, his spiritual pressure was actually terrible and frightening, and that was putting it lightly.

"Don't get me wrong Ichi-kun, no one is happier than I am about these recent developments, though my rational mind cannot ignore the obvious question... "Neliel trailed off with a serious tone.

"and that would be?"Ichigo asked curiously.

"Why, if arrancar are hollows who have attained shinigami powers, do only you have a shinigami zanpakuto, and how did you convince your zanpakuto to teach you, a hollow, shikai and bankai release?"Nel asked curiously.

"Hmmm...it's an interesting question I must admit. The best way to explain is this, if you guys are part shinigami and part hollow, then I am part visored and part arrancar."Ichigo explained much to the confusion of everyone with the exception of Muramasa once again.

"I don't know what a visored is doncha know."Dondochakka stated obliviously.

"A visored is the polar opposite of an arrancar, in other words, a shinigami who has acquired hollow powers. I am the first and only of my kind, part arrancar and part vizard, and just to quickly answer your other question Nel, I didn't get my zanpakuto spirit to teach me those abilities, I simply devoured him and my inner hollow and gained their powers. I am still a hollow after all."Ichigo replied with a sinister smirk, causing Nel's , Ying's, and Yang's eyes to widen in realisation.

"Sugoi Ichigo-sama! You're so powerful and smart and amazing! I bet you're much stronger than anyone in Hueco Mundo and Soul Society put together now!"Yang exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I always knew that if anyone could do it, it was you, ichigo-sama."Yin replied with a small smirk.

"Ahem..."Nel coughed in her hand loud enough for everyone to hear, Yin and Yang casting dirty looks at Neliel for interfering with their quality time with Ichigo-sama.

"What is it, Nel? More questions?'Ichigo asked patiently.

"Just one more. What exactly is an inner hollow?"Neliel asked curiously.

"It's sort of like a zanpakuto spirit but in hollow form, it's what happens when a shinigami undergoes hollowfication. I was a half shinigami who turned into a hollow, so I developed an inner hollow when I transformed, but it was suppressed deeply into my soul along with my shinigami powers because well, an inner hollow is something that only shinigami develop. When those shinigami powers were forced to the surface, so did my inner hollow. However as I said, I devoured him along with my zanpakuto spirit." Ichigo elaborated.

"I see..."Neliel trailed off with a thoughtful expression, Ichigo wondering what could be on her mind right now, after all, he had just announced that not only was he technically a different species to the others right now, but that he was actually of shinigami lineage, there was bound to be some measure of weariness or even suspicion.

' _They have never fully trusted Muramasa because of his former shinigami zanpakuto state, will they have the same issues with me as they do with him? No, it doesn't matter, not really. Neliel seems to have a high degree of respect and trust for Aizen, and he is one hundred percent shinigami compared to me, who is by all intents and purposes, a hollow. All I have to do is be true to myself and to them, and everything will be okay.'_ Ichigo thought with unwavering conviction.

"So anyway, if there are no more questions, I would like to ask one of my own."Ichigo said, effectively snapping the green haired bombshell out of her musings.

"Oh, what is it Ichi-kun?"Nel asked with an innocent expression, a little bit of her ditsy self coming back to the fore, a sign that she was slowly getting used to the idea of Ichigo being an arrancar-visored, if that's what you could call it.

"I'd like to know why you guys were fighting earlier on when Muramasa and I arrived?"Ichigo asked with a small frown, the thought of his most precious comrades fighting against each other not sitting well with him at all.

Nel on the other end could feel a chill run up and down her spine. This was the question she had been dreading since Ichigo and Muramasa arrived, in fact, she had been hoping that the many questions she and her comrades had been asking would have helped direct him away from that line of questioning, and she had hoped that Yin and Yang would be too happy for Ichigo's return to bring that up again. However, fate had other plans for her it seemed, though in all honesty she should have known better, Ichigo does after all pay a great deal of attention to the needs and feelings of those that are important to him, something that she loved about him even though it was the bane of her existence at the moment.

"I ummm...Ichi-kun I..."

"She's sleeping with the enemy that's what! And she had a chance to kill Nnoitra and yet she allowed him to live. A warrior who doesn't have the will to kill our enemies is a liability, she'll get us all killed someday. I say we ditch her now while we still can."Yin said through clenched teeth, a hateful glare directed at the buxom green haired arrancar.

"Yin-chan, we don't betray or abandon our own, that's not how we do things around here, that's not our legacy."Ichigo said with a kind but firm tone.

"G-gomen Ichigo-sama, it's just, it's just, I feel let down and betrayed. She doesn't care about our feelings or how her actions might affect us in the future, it just seems like the only thing she cares about is making herself feel good. Nobody likes killing obviously, we're not animals, but we do what we have to, we don't take any chances when it comes to our loved ones. Isn't that our legacy, Ichigo-sama?"Yin argued passionately, tears free falling from her eyes almost like a waterfall, at the very least a fountain.

' _Yin-chan? Is this how you felt the whole time? Are these your true feelings? Have I...have I really betrayed you all? Have I really been selfish? No, self centred is the more appropriate term.'_ Nel thought with astonishment and heartache, tears threatening to stream down her eyes

"Yin-chan, what happened while I was gone? Tell me everything, and don't leave anything out." Ichigo ordered with authority behest to him as the strongest hollow in the group, but also because of the respect and admiration his friends had for him as a person.

Yin did just as ordered, taking Ichigo's words literally and not leaving even a single detail out, which slightly frustrated Ichigo as there were some unnecessary descriptions in her story but nevertheless, it was he who made the order and Ichigo concluded that he would have to live and die by his word, the carrot topped teen listening intently up until the end of the story. Needless to say, Ichigo wasn't pleased at all by what he had just heard, especially regarding Neliel's showing of mercy for Nnoitra of all people. Yin was right, Neliel did need to sort out her priorities and if she continued to behave like this then she would eventually become the biggest threat to their wellbeing, more so than any other enemy out there.

The Grimmjow situation presented quite a challenging puzzle to Ichigo. On the one side, Grimmjow was an enemy and should have been dealt with, but with another point of view, ichigo could sympathise with Neliel, he didn't think it would have been easy for any of them had they found themselves in her shoes, even though part of Ichigo wanted nothing more than to rip this Grimmjow character into a billion molecules for some reason that he was beginning to understand to be jealousy. He didn't quite understand why but the thought of what Neliel and this guy might have, no, almost certainly did in their private time pissed him off to no end. It was a time like this that he was grateful that he had devoured zangetsu, the old man's emotional control was very handy in situations like this he had come to learn.

' _I have no right to be jealous, Nel and I are nothing but comrades and I don't even know the first thing about that kind of relationship, I don't even understand my own feelings regarding her.'_ Ichigo tried to convince himself, though in all honesty he thought he was being as true to himself as he could be.

' _Besides, any move I could make now would just complicate matters even more, especially considering the next move that I plan to make. I don't want to put that kind of burden on her, and honestly, I don't want to always have to wonder about her and Grimmjow all the time. Trust is a very sensitive issue from what I have read, especially in these kinds of situations, and love is selfish and self centred, it only cares about itself and itself alone, and a single event or misunderstanding can turn that love into an unimaginable magnitude of hate. I don't want to put neither myself or Neliel in such a volatile situation. If I truly love her, then I will simply create the platform for her to find her happiness whilst seeking my own. And if I never find it, then so be it, as long as my precious people are taken care of and happy, I'll be content.'_ Ichigo thought with his eyes closed, the others all waiting with baited breath to hear Ichigo-sama's judgement, none more so than Neliel, who seemed to be at the brink of a nervous breakdown.

"I...Ichigo-sama...?"Yang whispered hesitantly, swallowing her desire to soothe Ichigo's conscious somehow out of an inexplicable sense of fear, a sense of fear perhaps stemming from the fact that Ichigo, despite logic dictating that he would never harm her, was still a very dangerous hollow.

"Before I say anything, Nel, I would like to know if you have anything to say for yourself? If you have any reasonable explanation for your actions, I would like to hear it. You must understand that it is important for me to understand your feelings and line of thinking at the time in order for me to pass a fair and accurate assessment and judgement of your actions."Ichigo asked with a neutral tone and expression.

"I...I have no excuse. Yin-chan is right, I...I betrayed everyone, I let everyone down and put them in needless danger. I'm...I'm not fit to be a leader." a distraught Nel sniffled, the emotional trauma she was feeling so heavy that it seemed to cause her physical pain her body was shaking so much.

"Listen, Nel, I won't condemn you for falling in love, truthfully speaking, I'm not sure I would have done anything different from what you did regarding this Grimmjow guy. When I try to imagine if it was you, Pesche, Muramasa, Yin-chan, or Yang-chan that I hadn't seen for over a hundred years, and you or they were working for a potential enemy, I seriously doubt I would have been able to kill you. No, scratch that, I know I wouldn't have been able to kill any of you. No number of years could ever erase my feelings for all of you, you are all more than members of the Hollow Community, you are my family." Ichigo said with the utmost sincerity, so much so that one could reach out and grab the honesty in his words, Ichigo portraying his thoughts and feelings so clearly that they were almost tangible.

"However, I cannot excuse your behaviour regarding Nnoitra. After what he did not only to you, but to your dearest subordinates and friends Pesche and Dondochhakka, I can't believe you would allow such a dangerous man to live, especially considering how determined you have been to get us to go to Las Noches. How do you expect Pesche and Dondochakka to live in such a place, after all, the last time you refused to kill him didn't he attack your subordinates in retaliation? Or do you expect them to grovel by your side twenty four seven? Afraid that they will be struck down as soon as they are one hundred metres away from you? Do you expect them to live that kind of a life, Nel? Constantly afraid, constantly looking over their shoulders? " Ichigo asked, his voice taking on an angered tone, a controlled anger, but anger nonetheless, making Nel feel more horrible than she had ever felt before. Sure, Ichigo had been irritated with her once or twice before, but he had never spoken like this to her, he had never truly been angered or disappointed in her, and she was finding out now just how horrible it made her feel to be the focus and source of his ire, just how much she never wanted to disappoint him like this again.

"Nel, as a leader, you always have one of two choices, in fact, not just as a leader, but as part of this family, you always have two choices. Your heart, or your comrades. Do you know what that means, Nel?"Ichigo asked rhetorically, Nel shaking her head in the negative as more tears spilled out of her eyes, Ichigo needing to pull on all of his willpower to resist the urge to apologise for being angry at her and warmly embrace her, but he wouldn't, he couldn't. Nel's attitude needed to be corrected and he knew that he would be causing more damage in the long run if he didn't address this issue right then.

"It means that the pain and despair you feel when you take a life is the sacrifice that you make in order to protect your loved ones. If it eats away at your soul every time that you take a life, then it just shows how much you are willing to endure in order to keep your loved ones safe. Therefore, your willingness to endure this pain and despair is the ultimate expression of your love and devotion to your loved ones, and conversely, your unwillingness to endure is the ultimate expression of your lack of resolve and selfishness. Do you now understand where you have erred, Nel?" Ichigo asked uncompromisingly, deep down hoping beyond hope that his words were getting through to Nel, because otherwise he wouldn't know what to do.

"Yes, and...thank you, Yin-chan, Yang-chan, Ichi-kun, I think I finally understand now." Nel said with a serious and emotionally devoid tone, the kind of tone that was often associated with her when she was about to do battle with a dangerous opponent, the buxom green haired arrancar wiping her tears away before prostrating herself in front of her friends, catching Ichigo and everyone else completely off guard with her actions. Ichigo wanted to ask her what the hell she was doing, but held himself at the last moment, deciding to rather wait and see how this plays out.

"Yin-chan, Yang-chan, Ichi-kun, Muramasa-san, and especially the two of you, Pesche, Dondochakka, I hope you can all find it in your hearts of hearts to forgive me for the betrayal, humiliation, and the danger that I have subjected you all to, all because of my weakness, cowardice, and self centred and selfish beliefs."

"N-Neliel-sama thats..." Pesche was about to say before he was quickly intercepted by Nel.

"And...! Undeserving as I am, I would be eternally grateful if you would give me one more chance to redeem myself and make right my wrongdoings, a chance to make it up to you and to show you the true extent of my newfound resolve. I beg of you."Neliel poored her heart out, though some might find it strange that she seemed to take on a much colder persona than normal whenever she was expressing her deepest emotions.

"I...hey you don't have to...tche! Whatever, as long as you don't get in my way next time!"Yin exclaimed with a furious blush, directing her gaze away as an audible huff escaped her throat.

"Translation, we forgive you so stop making us feel bad already."Yang replied with a small smile, causing a tick mark to appear on Yin's forehead, who the hell told her bitch of a twin sister that she needed a translator? And even if she had needed one, who died and made her the translator?

"Your words have reached me, and they have successfully moved me. I just hope that you will live up to your promise."Muramasa replied with a piercing gaze.

"I will, you can count on it, Muramasa-san."Neliel replied with conviction as she raised her head to meet Muramasa eye to eye, a soft 'hn' the only response she was able to get out of him.

"Pesche, Dondochakka? What about you? Can you ever forgive your baka of a leader?"Neliel turned to them with a sorrowful smile, the comical duo falling flat on their knees and balling their eyes out, exclamations of praise for Neliel and declarations of their unworthiness of the humble princess Neliel enough of a giveaway that there were no hard feelings there, Nel smiling happily at the antics of her friends and surrogate younger/older siblings before facing the person who's decision meant everything, and not just because of his authority as leader but also because of his importance to her.

"You want to hear what decision I have made?"Ichigo asked with an unreadable tone and expression, the carrot topped teen hollow gently ejecting himself from the embrace of Yin and Yang and taking a few steps towards Nel, who was still on her knees, Nel fearing for her life even though her heart of hearts told her that he would never harm her, but then again, one would have to ask how she could trust something that doesn't even exist considering that hollows biologically don't even have hearts.

"I forgive you, Nel."Ichigo said as he offered his hand to the green haired beauty, Ichigo secretly marvelling at how beautiful she looked even with tear stains on her facial features.

"I...Ichigo!"Nel exclaimed happily, using his full name now instead of her pet name for him as she bypassed his hand and glomped him at the speed of light, catching Ichigo off guard with a very powerful embrace, her sizeable breasts meshing against his body with his own arms reflexively wrapping around her figure.

' _This...this feels so great...so...so fitting...like she was made to fit in perfectly into my arms.'_ A slightly dazed Ichigo thought.

' _N..No! I cannot fall prey to childish fantasies and emotions like that!'_ Ichigo exclaimed in his mind, trying to pull away from the embrace but finding out quickly that it would not be such an easy feat between Nel's strength and determination to hold on and his own reluctance to pull away, Muramasa watching the scene transpiring before his eyes with a casual curiosity, the mysterious arrancar absent mindedly wondering what the true status of Nel and Ichigo's relationship was, especially now that Ichigo had made his evolution into an arrancar.

"Hn, I hope this excitement pertains to your promise to redeem yourself Nel-chan, because not that I doubt you or anything, but the merit of those words will be tested much sooner than you might think." Ichigo said with as casual a tone as he could master.

' _There, that should get her to back off.'_ Ichigo thought, grateful that Nel, just as he anticipated, quickly broke away from his embrace, because he wasn't sure if he wouldn't have changed his mind and make her his if she held on any longer, history and consequences be damned, though unable to help but to note how cute and sexy at the same time she looked with that deceptively innocent look of confusion and curiosity she now spotted on her facial features.

"W-what do you mean Ichi-kun?" Neliel asked, simultaneously hating and loving how she could never tell what was on his mind, Ichigo possessing the ability to always surprise her, and almost always much to her delight. Nel however was not the only one who's curiosity was peaked by Ichigo's words, Muramasa, Pesche, Dondochakka, and the twins all waiting with bated breath to find out what their leader had in mind.

"What I mean is, we're going to Las Noches in about an hour or so, right after we pack some of our stuff that we're going to need into Muramsa's kamui dimension. This is what you always wanted right? Well, good news, it's finally happening, and it also means that you'll inevitably get a chance to redeem yourself by disposing of Nnoitra as I'm sure you won't even have to go after him, he'll come after you of his own accord. Also...this means that you will hopefully never have to choose between Grimmjow and us, because he'll be an ally."Ichigo said a heavy heart, although he did effectively manage to suppress said feeling from manifesting in his smile.

To say Nel was devastated would be the same as saying Aizen Sousuke is an intelligent man, a massive understatement. Neliel knew very well that being angry and disappointed at ichigo was illogical given the fact that not only had she failed to confess her feelings to him, but also because she had just recently proven that she still had feelings for Grimmjow and on top of that she was the one that had started the 'lets go to Las Noches' bandwagon to begin with. However, despite all that, Nel still couldn't help but to feel hurt and disappointed by Ichigo's words, after all, if Ichigo felt the same about her as she'd hoped, shouldn't he have fought for her instead of passing her on to Grimmjow like a soccer ball, shouldn't he at the very least have tried to keep her away from him instead of sending her straight into the lion's den?

The more Nel thought about it, the more frustrated she became, to the point that it even crossed her mind to sleep with Grimmjow as the first action to take as soon as she returns to las Noches just to see what Ichigo would do. However, she wasn't that type of woman and not only did she know that she could never try to hurt Ichigo like that, but she knew that using such a cruel and underhanded tactic would eliminate any possibility of her and Ichigo ever becoming an item, she would never become Mrs Kurosaki that was for sure if she walked down that path.

' _Why is this happening to me? Why doesn't he understand that the only reason I wanted us to go to Las Noches was so that he could become an arrancar...so that we can be together!'_ Nel yelled internally before she was thankfully distracted from her self loathing thoughts by one of the twins.

"I don't understand Ichigo-sama, weren't you going to become King and change Hueco Mundo? I don't understand how becoming one of Aizen-teme's lackeys falls into that promise!"Yang inquired desperately, a look of fear tangible in her eyes, not the kind of fear one feels when they are in danger, but the kind of fear and despair one feels when it dawns on them that the person they trusted and respected the most might not actually be who he says or pretends to be.

"I did promise to change Hueco Mundo for the better, but if you haven't noticed, Hueco Mundo has been and is in the process of changing for the better already, and that is not by my doing but by Aizen's doing. Don't get me wrong Yang-chan, I'm not discarding the promise that I made to you and Yin-chan, however, those espada along with the rest of the arrancar army are very powerful and important not only to maintain law and order in Hueco Mundo, but to protect it against the injustice of soul society and it's thirteen court guard squads. Those arrancar are at the moment all loyal to Aizen and if I try to forcefully replace Aizen, it will lead to a war between us and Azien's army, a war in which we are vastly outnumbered. Why should we engage in a war against and kill each other while the true enemy, the thirteen court guard squads remains undisturbed in their pursuit of injustice against the hollow species?"Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"I...I understand what you're saying but, how could you of all people serve a mere shingami? Hueco Mundo should be ruled by a hollow, it should be ruled by you!"Yang argued vehemently.

"I don't know if it should be ruled by me or not, but what makes you think I don't intend to rule it one day?"Ichigo asked, a small but cocky smirk morphing into his facial features.

"Ichigo-sama, what are you saying exactly?"Yin asked curiously.

"Listen, I promised Neliel, Pesche, and Dondochakka that I would restore their true forms and help them to redeem themselves whilst regaining their dignity and status in the arrancar army. I've fulfilled the first part and returning to Las Noches sets the stage to fulfilling the second part of that promise. I promised Muramasa that I would help him get revenge on seiretei for the death of his former master, so since this arrancar army is built to go to war against the thirteen court guard squads anyway, then joining the arrancar army not only sets the stage but also provides the resources and backup for Muramasa's goal to be realised and my promise to be fulfilled..."Ichigo trailed off, pausing slightly in order to give everyone a chance to digest the information before carrying on from where he left off.

"And last but not least, joining the arrancar not only prevents us from killing each other, but it also paves a way for me to ascend to king through a path that provides the least bloodshed amongst us and our arrancar kin. Joining the army provides us with a chance to form bonds with the other members and to gain their trust, respect, and loyalty, that way, should Aizen betray hollow kind, as I suspect he will, then I will be there to take him out and our comrades will rally behind us." Ichigo explained clearly and concisely, everyone amazed at how much thought Ichigo had put into this, his comrades, including Muramasa, marvelling at how smart and wise ichigo had become at the ripe age of just fifteen years old.

"What happens if Aizen doesn't betray hollow kind? What then? Will you instead become the traitor?" Muramasa asked out of more curiosity than anything else.

"Not at all. You see, judging by how Nel, Yin, and Yang's fight concluded against Nnoitra and Grimmjow, I'm quite confident that all the three of them and the two of us will break into the espada ranks. That means that five out of the ten espada will be coming from our group, and if I, you, and Nel-chan can make it into the top three or four, then all the better for us."Ichigo said with a satisfied smirk.

"In other words, not only do you plan for us to join the espada, but also to attain majority rule and control of the espada, and if we control the espada..."

"Then even Aizen will be weary of the consequences of betraying us. Eventually, he might become nothing but a glorified figurehead, that is, if we play our cards right." Ichigo finished Muramasa's sentence, once again, the girls along with Nel's fraccion marvelling at ichigo's brilliant mind, a reminder of just why they had practically forced leadership of the group unto him, though Ichigo hadn't tried that hard to resist.

"I...I understand, I'm sorry for doubting you Ichigo-sama, please forgive me."Yin apologised sincerely.

"There's nothing to forgive, it was quite a surprise that I sprang up on you, it's understandable to have questions. Having said that however, are there any objections to the plan? Please do not shy away from saying anything and don't succumb to peer pressure, because if even one of you is unhappy then I'll just have to come up with a better plan, one that will be to everyone's satisfaction. You are not my subordinates but my family, so you don't have to blindly follow me."Ichigo asked a he looked everyone in the eye, one by one until he got to the last one, Dondochakka, who also seemed to have no objections.

"Okay, then hurry and pack everything you need, we will be using Muramasa's kamui as a storage facility. You all have one hour."

 **Four Hours Later**

"Szayel, any progress in the effort to find Neliel and her new friends?"Aizen asked calmly, some of the arrancar's faces contorting and twisting in disgust at the mention of the so called traitor, none more so than Nnoitra Gilga, who's hate for the former tres espada was the stuff of legends.

Aizen is a man with brown hair and and dark eyes along with a pair of glasses, wearing the standard shinigami shihakusho along with a captain's hoari. Right now he was in Hueco Mundo, but without his comrades Gin and Tousen as it was too much of a risk for all three of them to be away from soul society at the same time. He was also sitting on his throne in the middle of the quite literally humungous room, with almost pavilion like seats on his left and right side, the whole arrancar army with the exception of the guards present for this meeting, the espada's sitting on the mini pavilion win groups with their fraccion. The pivaron espada were also huddled together and the rest of the numeros were scattered around the meeting room.

"My apologies Aizen-sama, but it seems they either do not reside in hueco Mundo at all, or they, in as much as I hate to admit it, have stealth capabilities beyond my capabilities to snuff them out at this point in time."Szayel replied diplomatically.

"Nani...? Why does it sound like you don't even want to find them, Szayel-teme? I've never heard you admit to anyone being superior to you in anything. You wouldn't perhaps happen to have something to do with her disappearance would you now, Szayel-teme?"Loly asked from her position standing right next to Aizen on his right hand side, with Menoly standing on his left hand side.

Szayel on the other hand didn't know whether he was too furious or too nervous at the moment, nervous because of how easily Loly had hit the bull's eye, and furious because of how arrogant and disrespectful she was to him, an espada, when she on the other hand was nothing more than trash who would probably never amount to anything. It sickened him, as did it many of the other arrancar, how much she sucked up to Aizen and how much she used that _close_ relationship she had with him to mock and abuse warriors that were far superior to her. A lot of the stronger arrancar would have probably murdered her a long time ago had she not so slimly abused Aizen's protection like she did. Some of them, Szayel included, suspected that Loly and Menoly's feelings for Aizen were one sided, that Aizen probably wouldn't give a damn no matter what they did to her, however, as Aizen incomprehensively tolerated her behaviour and even tacitly allowed it, there was no way to be sure and no one, Szayel included, was willing to take that risk.

"T-that's not true, I assure you that I had nothing to do with Neliel's betrayal. Besides..." the pink haired, bespectacled scientist trailed off with his head facing down, a sinister smirk morphing into his facial features.

"However...?"Loly demanded with authority that she neither earned nor possessed.

"Well, I don't mean to throw anyone under the bus but I'm not the one who spurned a perfectly good opportunity to capture and return her to Las Noches. If anyone should be put under the microscope..."

"You slimy piss of shit! What the fuck are you trying to say, huh? That I would spurn a perfectly good opportunity to kill that bitch? Huh?"Nnoitra snapped furiously.

"Ahem, I believe your orders were to bring her back alive, not kill her."Szayel retorted as he unnecessarily fixed his immovable frameless spectacles.

"That's true! I can't believe you ants couldn't complete such a simple task as retrieving a puny little girl, and the nerve to come running back here with your tails between your legs, hn!" Barragan snorted with disgust. He appears to be an old man with a scar running across his missing left eye and crown on his head as the remnants of his mask. Unlike the others, Barragan is actually seated on his own custom seat made out of bones.

"I don't think that is a fair assessment. From what I understand, this Neliel formerly held the rank of tres espada, yet Grimmjow and Nnoitra are the fifth and sixth espada. Should it really be a surprise that they lost, especially if her new allies are as powerful as was described in Grimmjow's report.

"Stop jumping to conclusions! We didn't even use our ressurrection so there's no telling how the fight would have gone down if we had! Okay!"Grimmjow yelled in frustration.

"That's a ludicrous excuse, Grimmjow. It's simple logic to conclude that if you were outmatched in your standard form then activating your resurrection would not have made much of a difference, because the enemy could have just simply activated their own resurrection. Now I'm willing to admit that resurrection varies from person to person, Yammi is a perfect example of this. However, the fact that you chose to fail the mission rather than to release your swords is more than enough proof that you were so outmatched that you didn't think using it would make a difference. Perhaps you were even afraid that the gap between you and your enemy would have become even greater had you..."

"Aaaaargh! I'm sick of this shit! I'm not listening to another word of your incessant yapping!"Nnoitra exclaimed as he got up to leave, only to be halted in his tracks as the most terrible and incredibly powerful reiatsu he had ever felt washed over him and the rest of the occupants of the room, not only Nnoitra's and the Espada's eyes widening in shock and fear, but even Aizen's eyes widening significantly at the magnitude and power of that reiatsu.

"At ease everyone, we come in peace."A voice reverberated around the room as a spiraling portal appeared in the centre of the room, everyone watching with bated breathe as the portal puked out five individuals, the individual seemingly appearing in a sort of triangular formation, with Ichigo, the leader, taking point and Muramasa on his right hand side slightly behind him and Neliel on his left, Yin and Yang standing further behind with Yang on Muramasa's right and Yin on Neliel's left hand side. Their stances however seemed so carefree and relaxed that one would never say that these people had just entered the heart of enemy territory, surrounded on all sides even.

All the espada, their fraccion, Loly, Menoly, and Aizen stared at the scene with disbelieving eyes, shocked by literally everything related to the scenario, from something as simple as the way these individuals looked to the manner of their entrance and even the fact that they had dared to come here anyway, though the reiatsu coming from them suggested that these people really didn't have much, if anything to fear. The rest of the numeros who weren't cloaked and protected by their espada's reiatsu or Aizen's reiatsu in Loly and Menoly's case were either unconscious already or at the brink of it, such was the magnitude and fierce nature of the reiatsu they were being subjected to. Truth be told even some of the espada were finding it hard to breathe and the pivaron were pushed to their limits just to maintain their consciousness.

' _That's impossible! At least two of them have even more reiryoku and stronger reiatsu than Stark and Barragan, that shouldn't be possible.'_ Ulquiorra thought disbelievingly.

"Hello there, Aizen-san, I have an interesting offer for you, I hope I didn't catch you in a bad mood."Ichigo said with a confident smirk.

"Perhaps you would like to stop lashing out at my comrades with your terrible reiatsu first, you might actually kill one of them."Aizen retorted, a small frown plastered on his facial features as he, for the first time in a long time, was caught completely off guard, a feeling he was not accustomed to nor did he ever wish to be accustomed to, being the ever a meticulous man that he was.

"My apologies, we were just loosening up our reiryoku muscles just a lil, you know, in case someone tries anything funny." Ichigo retorted as he and his comrades suppressed their spiritual pressure, providing much appreciated relief for everyone in the meeting room, some of the almost unconscious arrancar in the room stirring and waking up those that had actually lost consciousness, a series of murmurs filtering around the meeting room before Aizen raised his hand, an action that elicited complete and utter silence with immediate effect.

" So what do you think? We good enough to make your espada ranks?" Ichigo asked rhetorically, already knowing, at least reiryoku wise that he and Muramasa had more than anyone of the arrancar in the room, it didn't take him too long to figure that out. There were two that he could immediately tell had more than Nel and another two who had more than either Yin or Yang, which wasn't bad at all things considered.

"Kurosaki Ichigo? That's your name isn't it?" Aizen asked rhetorically, a small smirk morphing into his facial features.

"You know of me? That's impressive Aizen-san, considering how great the lengths I have gone to keep a low profile." Ichigo replied with a dumbfounded expression.

"It is very difficult for anything occurring under the sky and over the sands of Hueco Mundo to occur without my knowledge, such is the requirement bestowed upon those who attain the rank of King in Hueco Mundo."Aizen replied, gaining a little confidence now that he was taking control of proceedings. Ichigo's spiritual pressure was terrible and comparable to even his own in magnitude, however, his numbers were greater and if ichigo was here to join his army, then it was simply a matter of time before he capture the young hollow in his kyoka suigetsu, and that would be the end of it, he would not have to worry about the young lad anymore as a potential threat to his position as king.

"I see. So how long have you known about me?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"From the beginning."Aizen rhetorted simply.

"Since I entered Hueco Mundo?"Ichigo asked, unable to stop the surprise from leaking into his tone.

"No, since you were in Kurosaki Masaki's belly. I've been monitoring you ever since, I even helped to facilitate your growth in Hueco Mundo by sending strong hollow your way for you to feast upon, and yes, I sent the hollow that ended your human life."Aizen replied with devastating effect, Ichigo completely shocked by the news that he was hearing, but believe it not, his comrades and even Aizen's arrancar army even more surprised than he was.

"That's...that's crazy? Why would you...wait a minute, are you telling me you planned for this very moment all along? You knew that eventually I would come to you and join forces with you? Why go through all that trouble?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly, unable to believe the auditory information his ears were retrieving from this man's lips.

"Yes and no." Aizen replied cryptically, the frown on Ichigo's face deepening as his irritation grew.

"What does that mean?"Ichigo bit out dangerously, though if Aizen was intimidated, he did well to hide it completely.

"You were not the intended target that day. Grand Fisher was supposed to kill your mother and you were supposed to live. Your mother was in the way of your progress, she was making you weak and dependent. I wanted you to be strong and when I realised what an obstacle she was to your growth, well, I decided that she had to be taken care of. Things didn't go as planned however and you ended up dying and becoming a hollow. I must admit that I was disappointed at first but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that this was more of an opportunity than a loss, so I simply adjusted my plans and...well, voala, Kurosaki Ichigo, a hollow, an arrancar, and a future espada."Aizen said with his usually calm and collected tone, though the facial expression showed infinite amounts of satisfaction and amusement.

"Wow...that's...that's quite impressive, Aizen-san. I can see why you have so many loyal followers, you have quite a brilliant mind on that head of yours."Ichigo replied with an eye smile, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Though I imagine it must bother you that, unlike the other arrancar, I do not owe you anything. After all, I didn't come to you for power, seeing as I was able to become an arrancar all on my own, a powerful and perfect one at that." Ichigo retorted, his sheepish smile morphing back into a cocky smirk as the words left his lips.

"Hn, not the response I expected, all things considered."Aizen retorted with a raised eyebrow, everyone watching the back and forth conversation with more than a little interest, everyone wondering who the hell this Kurosaki ichigo was, and how the hell he could have become a perfect arrancar on his own, one that seemed to be more powerful than all of the other espada if their readings were correct.

"I have no memories of my so called mother or any of my human life, and therefore, I am not that human boy who's life you toyed around with. And if you think I regret becoming a hollow then guess again, because I don't. If I hadn't become a hollow, I would have never met Nel-chan, Yin-chan, Yang-chan, Muramasa, Pesche, or Dondochakka. The moments I have spent with them are the happiest of my life and I have gained this strength that I have so that I can protect them and help them get stronger. I don't have any regrets, Aizen-san, nor do I hate you for what you did. Now, having said that, hurry up and use your kyoka suigetsu so that we can join the army, that's the requirement to join, right? That we be under your zanpakuto's spell?" Ichigo retorted with another one of his cokcy smirks, this time Neliel, Muramasa, and the twins also spotting matching smirks of their own, a deep frown etching itself on Aizen's forehead, his so called experiment doing yet something else that completely blindsided him, much to his joy and chagrin at the same time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any other series I might use for inspiration

 _ **Responsibility or Opportunity**_

"Good morning everyone." Aizen greeted with an unpleasantly pleasant smile, having returned from the two week long journey that he had taken with all of the espada and potential espada, a journey that was taken in order to do the ranking evaluations from as far as possible from Las Noches as possible, because some of the espada ranked above a certain level of power were not allowed to release their zanpakuto within and around the premises.

"The reason I have called for this meeting is to announce to everyone the new espada and pivaron espada rankings, as we have concluded the evaluations that we set out to conduct two weeks ago. Now, without wasting any more of yours or my time, I will now announce the new espada, so listen carefully so that you don't miss it." Aizen said with chilling politeness, everybody that didn't already know the results waiting with curiosity and impatience to know what the new hierarchy looked like.

"The espada are ranked from number 0 up to number 9, and I shall give you the names in ascending order. Number 0, Kurosaki Ichigo." Aizen declared, causing a chorus of murmours and whispers to spread around the arrancar army, most of them feeling quite vexed that the newbie was going to be in charge of them, but Aizen quickly silencing all the potential protests before they could get anywhere with a casual wave of the hand, such was the amount of fear and respect that he had from his followers, both the willing and the unwilling followers.

"Number 1, Muramasa." Aizen declared, this time, an even louder chorus of murmurs spreading around the army, even some boos mixed in somewhere there, the arrancar army clearly unhappy about not one, but two newbies holding the two highest positions, however, this time with a sizeable dose of spiritual pressure and killing intent, Aizen was able to silence the crowd again.

"Number 2, Ulquiorra Cifer." Aizen announced much to, again, everyone's surprise, with the exception of those who participated in the espada evaluation of course, said people having some knowledge of the new hierarchial order already. However, this time, everyone kept the shock to themselves, as they could see that their leader was becoming increasingly irritated.

"Clearly most of you are confused by Ulquiorra's rise in the ranks. Well, it turns out that your brother Ulquiorra has been holding out on us when it comes to his true potential for a very long time. In other words, he has always been the strongest espada in our ranks, that is of course, until the arrival of our new, talented recruits." Aizen explained to the populace.

Of course, he had known all along about Ulquiorra's secret, which is why he often delegated most of the difficult and important tasks to the nihilistic espada. He honestly hadn't cared why Ulquiorra wanted to hide his abilities from his comrades, not until now at least, although, even now, the only reason he had exposed Ulquiorra's deception to the others was because he wanted to know who was the more powerful between him and Ichigo, and also to keep him within the higher ranks in the espada so that he can continue to enjoy the close professional relationship he had with the former 4th espada.

"Number 3 is Neliel Tu Oderschvank, number 4 Koyote Stark, number 5 Barragan Luisenbarne, and number 6 is Tia Harribel." Aizen announced in quick succession this time, taking a relatively long pause to give his surbodinates a chance to process the whole thing, again, the murmurs spreading around the army, this time Aizen a little more understanding to their predicament, because even he had needed time to process the fact that his former primera and segunda were now the fifth and sixtth strongest in his army.

"The 7th espada has quite a perculiar circumstance, as the position is not held by a singular person, but by two individuals who are equal in power and have decided that they want to rule together as one person in the 7th quadrant. So with that said, I am proud to announce to you that the arrancar twins, Yin and Yang, are the 7th espada." Aizen announced, this time not much of a surprise coming from the arrancar as they had already heard through the rumour mill about Noitra and Grimmjow's defeat to these two when they were sent on a mission to recruit them, most of the arrancar taking this anouncement as confirmation of the validity of the rumours, though of course the fact that they both held the rank of 7th espada was undoubtedly an eyebrow raising revelation.

"Finally, Number 8 and 9 are Noitra Gilga and Grimmjow Jaegerjaguez." Aizen concluded, most of the people in the army wondering what would happen to Zommari Rureaux, Szayel Aporro Granz, Aaroniero Arruruerie, and Yammy Largo, especially Yammy, as everyone knew that he had actually been considered the strongest in his ressurection form. What was going to happen to him now, how on earth was he going to be ranked?

"As you all know, there were others who applied for the espada ranks, namely, your newly born brother, Wonderweiss Margela, Luppi Antenor, and the founder and leader of the Exequias, Rudbornn Chelute. Sadly, none of them were able to make the grade, however, they have voluntarily decided to join the ranks of the disgraced ones, the ones who seek redemption, the pivaron espada..." Aizen trailed off dramatically, everyone else wondering how on earth someone would voluntarily decide to join those isolated outcasts, living in the lowest and darkest depths of Las Noches, forgotten and ignored, surely these two were some kind of idiots, though on the flipside, having applied and contested for the position of espada and failed, perhaps that was where they actually belonged.

"In any case, with that said, here are the new pivaron espada rankings. Number 100, Wonderweiss Margela, number 101, Zommari Rureaux, number 102, Luppi Antenor, number 103, Szayel Aporro Granz, number 104, Aaroniero Arruruerie, number 105, Yammi Largo, number 106, Ruddbornn Chelute, number 107, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, number 108, Cirucci Sanderwicci, number 109, Ganterbaine Mosqueda." Aizen concluded, most of the army seemingly unable to stop themselves from discussing the new hierarchial order, whispers and murmurs again reverberating around the meeting hall, this time the main issue of discussion being Yammi Largo's rank in the army.

Yammi himself, to say the least, was quite a little, no, extemely vexed by not only his demotion but the events leading up to said re-arrangement. During the espada examinations, he'd disputed Aizen's decision to name that carrot topped teen as the new zero espada and had subsequently released his zanpakuto and attempted to dispose of him, in order to prove that he was the only one that was worthy of that position. However, the new Primera, Muramasa had interceded and subsequently demolished Yammi.

What made things worse was the fact that the guy hadn't even needed to release his own zanpakuto in order to defeat Yammi, but that hadn't stopped him from releasing it anyway, just for the sake of it, and also in order to erase all thoughts Yammi might have had about obtaining vengeance for the humiliation that he was subjected to. Needless to say, it had worked, because Yammi, along with everyone else, were left speechless by Muramasa's Perfect Susano'o release, a release that didn't yield any physical changes on the mysterious arrancer, but enclosed him in a gigantic contruct made entirely of spiritual energy, a construct that was just as big as Yammi in size, but had none of the weaknesses that Yammi had in that form. In other words, Muramasa obtained a size and power advantage without losing speed and agility. It was at that point that everyone knew that, if Muramasa was this strong, then Kurosaki Ichigo must have been some kind of monster, or even a some kind of god.

So, even though Yammi hated the fact that he was demoted, he certainly no longer entertained any thoughts of getting revenge against neither Ichigo or Muramasa, because he knew that pain, suffering, and a horrible death were the only things waiting for him at the end of that path. As far as being ranked as number 105 in the army, well, that was just plain bullshit as far as he was concerned, and he would have expressed that too had the subject of his envy not spoken up before he could.

"Ahem! Pardon the interuption, Aizen-sama, but is it really wise or fair to have Yammi ranked so low? I mean, given the power of his ressurrection." Ichigo inquired, everyone, his friends included, quite significantly surprised that he would speak out on Yammi's behalf like that, Yammi himself totally blindsided by what just happened, not to mention, incredibly suspiscious of Ichigo's intentions.

"As the zero espada, you are the man in charge of las noches in my absence, and so with that said, what solution would you propose to this predicament, one Kurosaki Ichigo?" Aizen asked curiously.

"Well, from my understanding, Yammi-san previously held two ranks in the espada, that of number 10 in his sealed form, and zero in his ressurrection form. I see no reason why that couldn't be the case again. Would it not be possible to engrave his number in such a way that the 1 would disappear when he realeases his zanpakuto, leaving only the 05?" Ichigo suggested.

"Leaving only the 05...?" Aizen asked with a questioning undertone, everyone else also wondering where the hell this was going.

"My evaluation of his power was that his reiatsu is somewhere near and around Barragan-dono's level when he releases his zanpakuto, hence the 05, to show that he is of equal power to our number 5 in his released form." Ichigo explained patiently.

"That's all well and good, but what about Yammi's living quarters? If he is to hold the rank similar to the fifth espada in his ressurrection form and one of a mere pivaron in his sealed state, then where will he live? At the lowest depths of the castle alongside the other pivaron, or near the top alongside the espada?" Ulquiorra asked with more than a little hint of doubts about the validity of Ichigo's plan in his tone.

"Oh...I'm glad that you are the one who asked that question, Ulquiorra-dono, because from my understanding, you and Yammi have worked together a lot since the time that you both arrived. In fact, from my understanding, he is the only arrancar that you are close to, and you, until recently, are the only arrancar that has been able to keep him in check and get him to follow orders during missions..."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Ulquiorra interupted, not getting where this was going at all.

"It has everything to do with it. Yammi is neither a pivaron or an espada, and he certainly is no regular numeros. However, he qualifies as both an espada and a pivaron espada..."

"We know this already! Just get to the damn point!" Noitra yelled rudely.

"..."

"The point is, I think that Yammi should stay with Ulquiorra-dono at his palace. That way, he doesn't live in obscurity like the other pivaron espada, but also doesn't get to have his own palace as if he were a regular espada." Ichigo concluded.

"So...basically what you're saying is, he gets to enjoy the luxuries of the espada and their fraccione without being an official espada or holding the rights and obligations of an espada, and without being anyone's fraccione?" Aizen asked rhetorically.

"Exactly. He can be Ulquiorra-dono's teammate, with Ulquiorra-dono being team leader, that is of course, with Ulquiorra-dono's blessing." Ichigo suggested.

"Hey...! Teme! Why the hell do you care what happens to that idiot anyway...?" Grimmjow began only to be cut off instantly by an angry Yammi.

"Nani! You want to come and say that right in front of me? You ant!" Yammi retorted.

"I'm just saying, this is the guy that, along with his friend, basically pussiefied you during the espada examinations. So why is he all of a sudden bending down on his knees and sucking your cock?" Grimmjow said with sinister smirk, every arrancar's hearts in their mouths at that statement, including Grimmjow's own fraccione, after all, who the hell couldn't feel how massive, overbearing, and menacing Ichigo's spiritual pressure was, who would be dumb enough to say things like that about him? It may have been that none of them actually liked the newbies, or especially the fact that they had such high positions, but no one was disputing their power, and no one was dumb enough to actually antagonise them like that, well, except Grimmjow obviously.

"There was no pussification of anyone, and irrespective of what you think happened during the evaluation, that doesn't change the fact that it would be unwise for us to waste the kind of potential that Yammi has. A true warrior has to be able to look within themselves and face the truth at all times. There is no point in denying the obvious, Yammi has a great amount of raw power and his spiritual pressure is enormous. What he lacking is cultivated skill, control and strategic aptitude, which is why I believe that Ulquiorra-dono is the person best suited to teach and mentor Yammi." Ichigo replied with clearity and composure.

"You still don't get it do you? You idiot! Why is that any of your concern? This is a world where the fittest survive and the weak perish. Stop concerning yourself with other people's business!" Grimmjow retaliated with a pointed finger.

"How ironic that you should say that, considering that in doing so, you are in fact the one that is interfering in mine and Yammi's business." Ichigo retorted, Grimmjow's eyes widening in surprise, his mouth opening and closing, with no words to be heard coming out of it.

 _'Nice one Itsygo...'_ Neliel thought with a small smirk plastered on her facial features, having had pure distress worn on her facial features just a few moments earlier, as she was worried that this little squabble that Grimmjow started had nothing to do with Yammi at all, but was actually about her, a concern she still had mind you, but one that Ichigo had significantly diffused with his passive dismantling of Grimmjow.

"In any case, Grimmjow-dono, when Aizen-sama returns to Soul Society, I automatically become acting supreme commander of the Arrancar Army, and as supreme commander, it is my job to ensure that the full potential and effectiveness of the army is maximised. That is my job description, and I would very much appreciate it if you didn't try to interfere with it." Ichigo warned with a grave undertone, Grimmjow looking like a dear caught in headlights as his pride and his brain told him two different things, his pride telling him that he shouldn't be taking this shit from the carrot topped teen, but his brain telling him the same thing Yammi's brain told him, that excruciating pain, suffering, and a horrible death were the only things waiting for him at the end of that path.

"Tche! Whatever!" Grimmjow eventually said, a tick mark clearly visible on his forehead as he turned his head to look away, Grimmjow losing a little bit of respect from many of the arrancar after that exchange, whilst Ichigo gained a lot of it, even from some of the most stubborn and powerful ones, such as Barragan and Yammi.

"Now, Aizen-sama, what do you think about my suggestion?" Ichigo asked neutrally.

"I think it is an excellent idea, however, just as all the espada are permitted to choose their own fraccione, I believe that Ulquiorra should have a choice about whether he wants to take Yammi under his wing or not..." Aizen trailed off, his gaze shifting from Ichigo to Uqluiorra's, the Nihilistic arrancar having remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, despite the fact that his name had been mentioned more than once in the conversation.

"Yammi can come and stay with me, but not as my partner. If he is to live with me, and if I am to mentor him, then he will have to have a clearly defined role...as my fraccione..." Ulquiorra said with an uncompromising tone.

"Naani! You...y-you bug! How dare you..."

"Is that any way for a mere pivaron to speak to the segunda espada, Yammi!?" Ulquiorra asked as his spiritual pressure flared, stopping Yammi instantly from his tirade as he swallowed a huge and audible lump down his throat.

"B-bastard! Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything. Your weaknesses are your own fault, and the decision is yours. Become my fraccione, or remain with the rest of that trash that have the nerve to associate themselves with the espada name." Ulquiorra said cruely, hurting and infuriating most of the pivaron espada, but none of them having the balls to retaliate neither verbally or physically, and justifiably so, because everyone knew what a vicious and sadistic animal Ulquiorra could be despite constantly acting like he was better than everyone else who showed the same traits.

"Aaaarg! Fine! Teme!" Yammi exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration, unable to believe the sheer level of humiliation that Ulquiorra was subjecting him to, the nerve of that bastard.

"Well, I guess that settles that then doesn't it. Now if there isn't anything else, I would very much like to be on my way back to Soul Socie...ty" Aizen trailed off as he was interupted before he could finish saying his goodbyes.

"Ahem..." Ichigo interupted with a fake cough, dark shadows hovering over his eyes as a rather strange and terrifying aura surrounded him.

"You have something to say, Kurosaki-kun?" Aizen asked with a calm and light aura, an almost total contrast to what he was feeling inside, his instincts screaming at him that something terribly wrong was about to happen.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do, Aizen-sama. If you don't mind, I would very much like to excercise my right to select a squad of fraccione for myself." Ichigo said with a sinister undertone, totally shocking his friends with that revelation, and even moreso Aizen and the other espada as well, who all thought that he had no desire to adopt any arrancar as his fraccione, because, well, because he had said so himself.

"I was under the impression that you were not interested in having your own fraccione...?" Stark trailed off with a questioning tone and a suspicious gaze directed at one Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Well...that was before I knew that an espada was allowed to recruit a former espada as a fraccione, but, thanks to Ulquiorra-dono and Aizen-sama, I now know that there is no barrier stopping me from taking that action." Ichigo retorted with a mischievious glint in his eyes, a small smirk plastered onto his facial features.

 _'No way...was this his plan all along? Did he already know that Ulquiorra was going to demand that Yammi become his fraccione from the beginning? Could it really be that this was his plan all along?'_ Harribel thought with a gaze full of concern and suspicion directed at the carrot topped teen, the strawberry teen's intelligence and propensity for diabolical scheming being of far more concern to her than even his terrible spiritual pressure and raw power.

"I see, so one of the pivaron espada has caught your eye, Kurosaki Ichigo? Hmmm... given that four of your six friends have made it into the espada ranks, I would say that your eye for talent is not something to be taken lightly. I must confess, I am quite curious, which one of the pivaron espada do you wish to recruit, Kurosaki-kun?" Aizen asked, brushing off this revelation as if it was nothing more than a minor source of amusement for him, which of course, was not entirely true.

"All of them." Ichigo deadpanned, literally everyone almost getting a heart attack when they heard that, okay maybe not literally, but it might as well have been considering how utterly shocking Ichigo's response was, even Aizen himself unable to hide the surprise and trepidition on his facial features.

"Nani! Are you insane? That will basically dissolve the whole pivaron espada squadrant. There will be no pivaron espada if you do that! Does your ant sized brain not comprehend that!" Barragan exclaimed furiously, unable to believe how much of an imbecile this entitled boy was turning out to be.

"He does comprehend it, he just doesn't care." Stark pointed out.

"Or perhaps that was his plan all along when he suggested that Yammi be paired with Ulquiorra-dono." Harribel pointed out, outwardly expressing her internal musings.

"You...this is what you wanted all along? You weren't concerned about the waste of Yammi's potential, or improving the overall strength of the arrancar army were you? You were only concerned about consolidating your own power..." Ulquiorra said with his usually emotion deficient tone, although if one listened carefully, one could tell that there was much more of a steel edge to his tone, the segunda espada clearly unhappy about the Zero espada's manipulation of events, especially with finding out that he was the main pawn in the carrot top's diabolical scheme.

"I don't get why you're all getting your panties up in a bunch. I am the zero espada, so of course it only makes sense that I have the strongest fraccione in the army. Also, no, it is not true that I am only concerned with consolidating my power. My goal is still the same, for us, as an army, to realise our full potential, and this is just one of the steps I am taking in order to get us there." Ichigo retorted.

"Nonsense! How does them being your fraccione alter the strength of our army? They are still the same people, with the same powers, and the same strengths and weaknesses irrespective of whether they are your fraccione or not. Are you some kind of idiot!" Noitra argued with an unhealthy degree of disrespect and incredule in his tone given who it was that he was speaking to, and what Neliel meant to said person.

"Not true at all Noitra-dono. There is a reason I am the zero espada and they are only pivaron espada. That is because my strength, my skill, my wisdom, my intellect, my vision, my will, and knowledge is vastly superior to theirs. But by becoming my fraccione, I can train them and pass on some of that knowledge, wisdom, and skill onto them, and by simply being around me and interacting with me, and generally being associated with me, they can gain some of that confidence and dignity that they have lost. Plus, having seen some of them in action, I already have a few ideas, and for some of them, even a few gifts that can help to improve their powers significantly." Ichigo trailed off to give the others, more especially the potential recruits, a chance to digest that little bit of vital information, before continuing where he left off.

"So you see, Noitra-dono, nothing has changed. My goal is still the same. When I am done with them, should they accept my offer of course, my fraccione will be the strongest and most co-ordinated squad in Hueco Mundo. I will teach them humility, discipline, teamwork and co-ordination, and ruthless efficiency. And of course I will help them improve their individual combat prowess wherever I can. This is the best resolution, not just for me, and not just for the pivaron espada, and not just for Aizen-sama, but for everyone." Ichigo concluded his speech, completely turning the tide as some of the pivaron who weren't even considering the offer and in fact felt insulted by the very notion of it, were now spotting contemplative facial expressions.

 _'Impressive. With his words alone he has almost completely evaporated the negative tide that was flowing against his declaration. Still, if he can't live up to his words, then all that talking and scheming would have been all for naught.'_ Harribel thought introspectively, unable to help but to wonder why she was finding herself routing for the carrot topped teen even though she was fairly certain that he posed a threat to Aizen's rule in Hueco Mundo, especially when she considered herself the most loyal and faithful of Aizen's servants.

 _'Just what is it about him that makes you voluntarily give your respect over to him? What is it about him that makes you want to follow and believe in him? Is this why Muramasa, Neliel and the twins seem to have so much faith and confidence in him? Is this why they look at him like they would throw their lives away at a seconds notice for him, without even batting an eyelash? Is this why they look up to him as if he were some kind of God?'_ Harribel thought to herself, deciding then and there that she needed to get to the bottom of this, the only question being whether she would take the indirect route by confronting the new tecera espada about it, or whether she would go directly to the source.

 _'Either way, it is not safe to stay in no man's land. I need to get to the bottom of this, so that I can re-affirm my loyalty and faithfulness to Aizen-sama.'_ Harribel concluded, wishing to dispose of her 'childish' enamormament with the carrot topped teen as soon as possible.

"You think that there is anything you can do to make us stronger that we haven't already tried yet? **No offense, Kurosaki-dono, but those are the words of an entitled child who has not yet had to endure true pain and suffering.** " Arroniero said with two distinctly different voices, one a clearly feminine one and the other an extremely deep and masculine one.

"You think so? Well, how fortunate for me that you, of all the pivaron espada, be the one to ask me that question, Arruruerie-san." Ichigo trailed off with a cheery tone.

" **W-what is that supposed to mean?** " Arroniero asked nervously.

"Do not be alarmed, I mean you absolutely no harm, but I would like for you to come over here and unbotton your top so that I can get access to your torso.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Arroniero asked fearfully.

"I've heard that you have a profound fear and weakness to the sun. I intend to rid you of that weakness." Ichigo said much to everyone's surprise, even Aizen himself unable to believe that Ichigo could make such a declaration so carelessly, as if he was talking about merely frying an egg on the pan or something of the sort.

"W-what? **You can really...** are you messing with me...?"

"We both know there is only one way to find out, Arruruerie-san." Ichigo cut in swiftly.

"..."

"Okay, I guess you don't want my help..."

 **"Noooo! I mean...** no, please! I...If you can really do it, then I'll join you. **I'll become your fraccione, I swear it on my life!** " Arroniero exclaimed with clear and unambiguous desperation and hope in his tone.

"Then come over and let me prove my usefulness and value to you as your espada." Ichigo commanded, Arroniero doing as instructed and taking off his top, leaving him with nothing but his pants, shoes, and the material that was covering his entire head as clothing items.

"This won't hurt at all." Ichigo said as he placed the palm of his hand on Arroniero's abdomen, channeling a large amount of reiryoku on his palm and then onto his first recruit as a pattern of runes spread across Arroniero's torso, at the centre of the runes being a spiraling pattern where Ichigo's palm had been just a second ago.

"This a sealing technique of my own creation. This seal emits an invisible barrier around your body that deflects the UV rays of the sunlight. So you will be able to feel the heat and warmth of the sun on your skin but the UV rays will not be able to penetrate the barrier, and the seal only absorbs a minuscule and irrelevant amount of reiryoku from you in order to remain active, basically meaning that it will remain active at any and all times without having any negative effect on your combat abilities." Ichigo explained, everyone in complete awe and disbelief that the solution to Arroniero's problem was that simple, though if they knew anything about sealing and barrier kido, they would have known that there was nothing simple about what Ichigo did for Arroniero.

"You can go and test it out if you don't believe me, and if it doesn't work I will let you feed on me to make up for it." Ichigo said confidently, Arroniero doing just as Ichigo suggest, using sonido to go outside as quickly as possible, and everyone else rushing towards the windows to see what would happen to him outside in the sun, and all of them, of course, stunned by how effective Ichigo's barrier turned out to be, watching in awe as Arroniero took on the many different forms of the beings he had devoured over the years while he was under sunlight, without any adverse effects.

It took quite a bit of time for him to get bored of the sun, in fact, he didn't get bored of it, as Ichigo had to order him back before Arroniero left the sunlight, having finally settled on a form for himself, a form that everyone couldn't help but notice how eerily similar it was to Ichigo's, with the most significant difference being the voice and hair colour. If anything, Arroniero could have easily passed himself off as Ichigo's twin brother, such was the extent of the resemblance between the two.

"What is the name of this person who's form you have taken, Arrurruerie-san? And do you plan to use this form indefinitely?" Ichigo asked curiously, Aizen's face involuntarily splitting into a smirk, this time completely unable to hide his amusement, silently anticipating the no doubt shocking reaction Ichigo would have when he found out who exactly it was that Arroniero was impersonating.

"Kaien Shiba, Kurosaki-sama. And yes, I was hoping to adopt this form permanently now that the sun lacks the power to unmask me." Arroniero replied respectfully, Ichigo's eyes widening suddenly in surprise before settling into a small smirk.

"What is it, Kurosaki-sama? Does my visage offend thee?" Arroniero asked with concern, concern because he didn't want to offend his new master, but also because he actually liked this body and didn't want to return to his ugly form that everyone ridiculed so much that he had to literally cover his entire head at all times.

"Oh not at all Arrurruerie-san, if anything, I think that this is fate." Ichigo said with an enlightened facial expression.

"I'm not sure I follow, and please, call me Arroniero, Kurosaki-sama." Arroniero trailed off with a questioning tone.

"Our resemblance is not mere coincidence, Arroniero. This man that you resemble, he and I are technically cousins. My father, in my human life, was a shinigami who defected from soul society and lived in the human world, inside of a faux body that sealed away his shinigami powers and turned him into a regular human. As a shinigami, he was a captain and the head of a noble clan, that being the Shiba clan, and he was this man's uncle. So you see, technically speaking, our relationship transcends that of espada and fraccione, you and I are like family." Ichigo said with a tone and expression that made it hard to tell whether he was being serious or not, although needless to say, Arroniero, having had no one even remotely interested in being his friend before, took Ichigo's words very seriously.

Aizen on the other hand was left quite a tad bit disappointed by Ichigo's reaction to the revelation, and also wondering to what extent Ichigo knew about his true lineage. He was also confused by Ichigo's lack of concern about the rest of the army's opinions about his lineage. Sure, they already knew about his shinigami roots from the time that Aizen revealed that he was the one responsible for Ichigo becoming a hollow in the first place, but for Ichigo himself to talk about it so carelously? Was there really nothing that could phase this guy? And if so, then did that mean that Kyoka Suigetsu was the only means for Aizen to control him?

For some reason, in as much as he was confident in his absolutel hypnosis, Aizen just didn't like the thought of that. Because even though he used Kyoka Suigetsu to control his underlings, it had never before been anything more than an insurance policy. The very idea that there was someone he otherwise possibly wouldn't be able to control if he didn't have Kyoka Suigetsu was quite honestly unsettling for him, because he was beginning to discover that Ichigo might be mentally and emotionally invincible, and there was the fact that none of them have even seen his ressurrection yet. Couple that with the fact that he had two zanpakutou instead of one, something else that was completely unprecedented, and there was certainly more than enough reason for Aizen to be concerned. It also didn't help that Ichigo refused to talk about his zanpakuto and the power that they wield, or to show the releases to neither his comrades or even Aizen himself. The only reason Aizen wasn't outright panicking was, again, because of his trump card, the ultimate equalizer, Kyoka Suigetsu.

"I see...that must mean that your father is Shiba Isshin." Arroniero said with a contemplative expression.

"Was Arroniero...was my father. I'm a hollow now, and have no memory of my human life. Those humans or shinigami or whatever they are...they mean nothing to me." Ichigo declared with a tone and expression that left almost no doubt that he really didn't feel anything for his ex family.

 _'I see now. It's not just the fact that he doesn't care if people know about his lineage or not, but rather, that he wants them to know about his lineage, because he knows that the arrancar will love, respect, and admire him all the more when he chooses them over his human family. This man...this man is extremely dangerous.'_ Aizen realised suddenly, or rather, confirmed what he already suspected about Kurosaki Ichigo's threat level, again, not knowing whether to be proud of his greatest experiment thus far or to be wary of him.

"Kurosaki-sama, I want you to know that I speak with the utmost sincerity when I say these words...you are the best thing that has ever happened to me." Arroniero declared controversially, everyone's heart in their mouths at any of the arrancar saying such a thing about anyone other than Aizen-sama, after all, wasn't Aizen-sama the one who rebuilt las noches and gave them these new forms and power? How could Arroniero be naïve enough to say something like that right in front of the man.

"Ooooh...I wonder what you'll think of me when I show you the other gifts that I have for you." Ichigo said with a jovial tone. He'd really meant what he said earlier, because he couldn't have been happier about the fact that it was Arroniero who had asked him that all important question, because out of all of the pivaron espada, Arroniero had the most to gain from having Ichigo as his espada, a close second being Wonderweiss Margela, who probably wouldn't have even been able to properly articulate his concerns anyway.

"Y-you've already done more than enough, Kurosaki-sam..."

"Nonsense! I have three more gifts for you my friend, just you wait and see. Trust me, you're going to love what I have in store for you." Ichigo said with a pat on Arroniero's shoulder.

"Oh,..and please, call me Ichigo." Ichigo added.

"H-hai, Ichigo-sama..."

 **Later that day...**

In the corridors of Las Noches, if one were standing or otherwise walking inside the passage leading away from Aizen's office, said person would not be able to get to the other side without running into a scary orange haired teen with a permanent scowl on his facial features, a scowl that was a complete contrast to his actual mood at that very moment, because to say things were going Ichigo's way would amount to an incredible understatement.

For one, Aizen was finally gone, which meant that he could begin to shape this place to his liking, and whoop this incredibly talented but also incredibly flawed army into shape, though that was not an immediate concern at the moment, after all, he had the whole pivaron espada as his fraccione now, and they were going to require his immediate attention. Just thinking about his subordinates brought a small smile onto his facial features. He'd had to expose a lot of things about himself in order to get their approval, to the point that, by the time he was done with his demonstration, they were almost literally fallling over each other in desperate attempts to get to his side.

He hardly could blame them, not after everything that he had done for Arroniero. Fixing his sun-screen issues in mere seconds had been the bait that Ichigo needed in order to get their attention, but giving him a near instant Bankai was what shattered all of their pride, because pride was the only thing that had been standing in Ichigo's way, which was understandable, after all, these people had all been espada and/or considered for the espada positions at one point or another, and most of them believed, deep down, that one day they would be able to reclaim their positions. So for Ichigo to ask them to give up their pride, and forfeit their plans and hopes to reclaim/claim an espada position, so that, even worse, they can bow down in service to another espada, was asking the near impossible out of them.

That is why the bait was needed, to get their attention. However, after gaining their attention, he needed to do something even better than the feat he had performed to get their attention, he needed to prove to them that there was something greater that they would gain from him that was worth trading for their pride. So he'd used a device that he'd created that would forcefully manifest Kaien Shiba's zanpakuto spirit, which of course, was now Arroniero's zanpakuto spirit. The device was very small, small enough to fit on the palm of a hand, and it only needed to be placed on the blade of the zanpakuto and it would forcefully manifest the zanpakuto spirit.

Ichigo couldn't have created the device without Muramasa's help, after all, Muramasa's most dangerous power, at least as far as shinigami were concerned, was his ability to forcefully manifest and manipulate shinigami zanpakuto. Ichigo's device was inferior to Muramasa's power because it could only forcefully manifest the zanpakuto, but could not manipulate and/or control it. Naturally, the better solution would have been to simply ask Muramasa to manifest Arroniero's/Kaien's zanpakuto spirit, however, nobody with the exception of Ichigo, the twins, and Nel along with her fraccione knew about Muramasa's power, and Ichigo wanted it to stay that way, after all, Muramasa's shinigami manifestation was their trump card against Aizen's Kyoku Suigetsu.

Nevertheless, having Arroniero force Kaien's zanpakuto to teach him Bankai was close to impossible, and would have taken too long even if it were possible. It would have taken even longer to master the bankai even if the zanpakuto had agreed to show him how to do it, as it could take up to ten years just to master it. So Ichigo had subdued the zanpakuto spirit as soon as it manifestated and ordered Arroniero to devour it if he wanted to have a bankai, and Arroniero, as soon as he heard the word 'bankai', had wasted no time in following Ichigo's orders, because God only knows how long and hard he had prayed for the opportunity to devour a captain class shinigami, having learned the hard way, a long time ago, that gaining bankai through a shinigami he devoured was impossible, until now that is to say.

The power explosion when Arroniero devoured the zanpakuto spirit had been massive, massive enough for everyone to know, without a shadow of doubt, that he was now much stronger than he was before. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was, at the very least, on Zommari Rureuax's level now, possibly on Wonderweiss's level. The scary part about that was that, by learning Bankai in this fashion, as in, by devouring the zanpakuto spirit, it meant that Arroniero automatically fully mastered his bankai abilities. The only thing missing now was gaining experience fighting with it, which Ichigo promised he would get through sparring sessions with him and maybe even some of his friends.

It was at this point that Wonderweiss stepped forward, and though his words were incoherent to say the very least, there was no doubt about his intentions, he was joining Ichigo. Ichigo for his part, as ridiculous as it may sound, was starting to get paranoid, because, to him, it felt like there was some sort of invisible force pulling the strings for him.

The reason for this feeling was because, all along, Wonderweiss and Arroniero, along with Ruborne Chelute were his main targets for recruitment, because they had the most potential for improvement and also because Ichigo had certain gifts and ideas in particular for them when it came to making them stronger, which was also why they were the perfect poster boys to advertise the fraccione positions that he was offering.

So, for Arroniero, and then Wonderweiss, in that order, to be the first ones to approach him, well, it was just a string of fortune that would make anyone take a beat. Nevertheless, Ichigo didn't waste time and performed the miracle that would completely turn him into a messiah like figure in the army, the miracle of miracles, which was to return what was taken from Wonderweiss, his sanity, his cognitive ability, his intellect, and his language skills, basically, to give him his mind and free will back.

However, this little feat, like any of the others, didn't come without a price as once again, Ichigo had to further expose himself, his eyes turning into a metalic grey as a ringed pattern appeared around his pupils, a godly and scary visage to behold as Ichigo placed his right hand on Wonderweiss's head, using an ability now known as the human path in order to restore Wonderweiss's mental faculties. Needless to say, everyone in the army was either impressed or jealous, and possibly both.

However, there was only one person who was left infuriated and unimpressed..Aizen-sama, and he hadn't been shy about making it known, his spiritual pleasure, despite his semi-calm visage and tone, lashing out at everyone in the meeting room, most of the army losing consciousness because of the oppressive pressure, even some of the espada having their knees buckle under the pressure, namely Grimmjow and to a lesser extent, Noitra.

The reason Aizen was upset was because Wonderweiss was his trumpcard against Captain Yamamoto Genryusei's zanpakuto spirit, Ryujin Jakka, because Wonderweiss had the ability to seal away Ryujin Jakka's abilities, a power that he had obtained as a direct consequence of a sacrifice, said sacrifice being his mind. So it wasn't unreasonable to assume that Wonderweiss would lose that ability if he regained access to his proper mind. What angered Aizen even more was that he had explained Wonderweiss's condition in detail to all of the espada, so it didn't make sense to him why Ichigo would go ahead and do something like this.

However, Ichigo, already knowing why Aizen was upset, and in fact having anticipated this reaction, quickly explained that Aizen had nothing to worry about, because Wonderweiss didn't lose anything from Ichigo's meddling. According to Ichigo, spiritual energy reacts directly to one's emotions, personality, and mental energy, and therefore, no matter how much one tries, one cannot trick or lie to his own spiritual energy. So when Wonderweiss made the decision to sacrifice his mind to obtain this power, at the time, he had no idea that it was possible to regain his mind, and the impact of that knowledge and the emotions that came with making the sacrifice were completely real, and once the sacrifice is made, one can never lose that power. That there later was discovered a way to fix his mind is of no consequence, because the sacrifice was already made, and the power was already obtained.

Anyway, to paint a clear picture, Ichigo, in one day, no, in a few minutes, did a number of things that Aizen simply couldn't or hadn't done. He cured Arroniero's vulnerability to the sun, and helped him to achieve an espada level skill, that being the bankai. He 'rehabilitated' Wonderweiss, in doing so making him a far more dangerous warrior in battle, and giving him the potential to maximise his effectiveness in battle, and then finally, arguably the most important thing he did, the thing that truly stood out above everything else, was that he gave Aizen-sama a lecture about spiritual energy.

Even the most die hard of Aizen fanboys/fangirls couldn't help how they felt after that display, and although no one dared speak of it, the seeds of thought were already festering. Was it possible that Ichigo was in fact stronger than Aizen-sama? Could he possibly overthrow Aizen and become the new King of Hueco Mundo? Would life in Las Noches and Hueco Mundo be better under Ichigo's reign? And how did they feel about that? Would they stand by him if he attempted a coupe? These were just some of the questions that almost each and everyone at Las Noches were deliberating over.

"You seem to be in quite a good mood today. I haven't seen you like this since you arrived." A voice said from behind Ichigo, stopping him instantly in his tracks, this being the first time said person had actually exchanged words with him, probably the first time she had spoken loud enough for him to get a proper read on her voice.

He'd sensed her presence of course, even though she was using some sort of light bending technique to hide herself from the naked eye. However, he hadn't been able to sense any malicious intent so he had decided to ignore her altogether, figuring that if she didn't want to be seen, then she obviously didn't want to be spoken to. However, now that she had revealed herself and made it clear that he was the person that she had been waiting for, he had no choice but to entertain her.

"So you've been keeping an eye on me?" Ichigo replied without turning around, not because he didn't want to look at her, because god knows he really really wanted to. However, her rare and exotic beauty and sex appeal were just too distracting for him, and her not so modest outfit was a threat to the very fabric of his sanity, so the last thing he wanted was for her to think of him as nothing but a lecherous pervert.

"Of course I have. You're a very dangerous man, Ichigo-sama." Harribel replied with a neutral tone.

"Dangerous...?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"I'm not in the mood for games. We both know that you are. It is not possible for someone with such a malicious and oppressive spiritual pressure to be the angel that you are pretending to be." Tier retorted.

"Malicious? Oppressive...?" Ichigo trailed off contemplatively.

It wasn't that he didn't know that his spiritual pressure was as sinister as Harribel described, because he'd heard a lot of hollows mention it in his time in Hueco Mundo. The problem with that was that it had always been his enemies, in other words, hollows that he was about to devour that always mentioned it. Persche, Dondochaka, and Muramasa never said anything about it, and the girls told him that they loved the feeling of his spiritual pressure, that it made them feel warm and protected. Initially, Ichigo had simply thought that his spiritual pressure felt sinister and malicious to his enemies because they felt it when he was directing a lot of malicious intent towards them in particular, however, the more he interacted with people outside of his circle of friends, whom he didn't wish to harm, the more he realised that perhaps that was just the nature of it, which begged the question, why did Neliel and the twins keep telling him that his spiritual pressure made them feel warm and safe?

"Playing games again are we?" Harribel asked rhetorically, unable to understand how someone with such a sinister presence could ever hope to deceive her.

"I'm not playing games. I'm a hollow, and an espada, so that makes me dangerous. However, doesn't the same apply to you?" Ichigo said as he finally turned around to face his new comrade, doing everything in his power to keep eye contact with her, knowing very well that if he looked elsewhere he might possibly become instantly seduced.

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it. I see what you're doing, and I'm just here to tell you that it isn't going to work. You won't be able to overthrow Aizen-sama, no matter how many pivaron espada you recruite, and no matter how many numeros you seduce with your parlour tricks." Tier said with a matter of fact tone.

"Seduce...?" Ichigo asked with a quirked eyebrow, unable to remember ever attempting to seduce anyone in his entire life.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Ichigo-sama. I'm talking about the fact that you offered to hold daily training sessions for every single numeros who wishes to attend, and just how are you planning to do that anyway and still have time for yourself, your friends, and your fraccione? You can't be in many places at once." Harribel chasticed.

"You would be surprised..." Ichigo trailed off with a small smirk, Harribel's eyes narrowing slightly as curiosity and confusion took hold of her.

"Anyway why the concern, what's it to you?" Ichigo retorted.

"I don't like people who make promises that they can't keep, and I especially don't like coniving snakes." The shark queen replied simply, although the unmistakeable venom in her tone could be heard if one listened attentatively enough.

"Hmmm...well, Harribel-dono, I honestly have no idea where this is going, but I'm going to be frank with you. There isn't going to be any revolution. I am loyal to the cause and because of that, I recognise that Aizen-sama is thee key component of our goals. He is powerful and intelligent, and of course he is the one who rebuilt Las Noches and gave Hueco Mundo an organised militia. Most importantly, as a shinigami Captain, he has intel about Soul Society and the Gotei 13 that none of us could possibly obtain on our own. Attempting to overthrow him would be ridiculous and any benefit from it would be self serving. It would literally do nothing for the rest of hollow kind." Ichigo replied with the utmost sincerity.

"You talk a smooth game, no doubt about it, but you can't fool me. So whatever plans that you have for Aizen-sama, be wary...of me." Tier said with a grave undertone, the atmosphere becoming so sharp and deadly that it could almost literally decapitate a lesser being just by standing anywhere close to the two espada.

"..."

"I'll keep that in mind, Tier Harribel-dono." Ichigo finally responded with a genuine smile, a smile that was following a long and soul piercing stare at the exotic beauty that was the sixth espada, a smile that Harribel didn't know whether to be relieved because of it or to be wary of it.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to with my fraccione, after all, territory re-assignment is not as easy a task as they make it out to be." Ichigo replied, turning and walking away before the sixth espada could respond.

"I hope to have a lot more of these conversations with you, Harribel-dono..." Were the last words Harribel heard before Ichigo disappeared with a blindingly fast sonido, the blonde haired godess releasing a huge sigh of relief, unable to believe how stupid and crazy she had acted just now.

 _'I can't believe how irrational I've been. That was the zero espada, by far the strongest warrior in our army, with by far the most potent and sinister spiritual pressure. Why did I behave like that?'_ Harribel berated herself, after all, as far as she was concerned, what she had just done was possibly even more brash and stupid than anything her adorable but childish fraccione would ever do.

 _'I only meant to measure his vessel, to find out what kind of man he is. Now I'm afraid I might have turned him into an enemy.'_ Harribel thought with more than a little trepidition, not sure how her girls would view her now that she had fallen so far down from her usual standards of intellect, elegance, intergrity, and maturity amongst other appreciable character traits. Would they still look up to her in the same manner, or would they no longer listen to her, because after all, there was barely any difference between them now.

 _'What am I thinking! How could I be so vain. There are far greater concerns than my fractured image! What if he decides to go after the girls! What if they end up paying the price for my insubordination!'_ Harribel thought frantically, quickly activatung her sonido as she sought to get to her fraccione's side as quickly as possible, Ichigo's friendly and non-antogonistic behaviour clearly not making the kind of impression on her as he might have hoped it did, the sixth espada pulling an entirely different meaning from it, as if she thought that he had spared her only because he was still pondering on exactly what he wanted to do to punish her effectively, perhaps as a result of her previous dealings with male hollows, especially during her hundreds of years spent in the deserts of Hueco Mundo before Aizen came to the rescue.

 **The Primera Espada's Quarters: A few Seconds Later:**

"Ichigo-sama...? I wasn't expecting you so soon." Muramasa said as Ichigo entered his abode without permission, not that he needed any of course, given how close the two of them were and how open they were with each other, not to mention that Muramasa still considered Ichigo to be his true master and not Aizen.

Muramasa was standing on his balcony, looking over the grounds of Los Noches and the sands beyond, although looking only in so far as his eyes were open, because his mind was so many miles away from there as he pondered over the events of the day, and over how fast things were changing for them. Wondering to himself if everyone would be able to adapt as fast as Ichigo was expecting them to, and more importantly, how Aizen was going to react to all of this in the medium and long term, although Muramasa knew better than anyone how far ahead Ichigo was able to think when it came to fullfilling his goals and protecting his loved ones.

"But you were expecting me to pay you a visit today?" Ichigo asked half rhetorically, now standing less than a metre to Muramasa's right hand side, the body language between the two of them making it as if this was just a conversation between two old friends and nothing more, which in a way it kind of was.

"Well...given Aaroniero's abilities, and the fact that he's your fraccione, I suspected that you would eventually come for **them** , although like I said, I didn't expect it to be so soon." Muramasa countered.

"You have concerns about my actions?" Ichigo asked perceptively.

"I'm wondering if it is wise to give Aaroniero as much power as you intend to give to him. You've already given him a bankai and immunity to the sun, to then go and give him those two as well...?" Muramasa trailed off, leaving Ichigo to put the rest together on his own.

"I don't intend to give them to Aaroniero, giving him access to three bankais would be counter productive, as he can only use one of those at a time anyway." Ichigo countered smoothly, Muramasa's eyes widening slightly, surprise clearly written all over his otherwise expressionless features.

"Then...you want me to use **that**?" Muramasa asked with a confused expression, unable to understand where Ichigo's mind was at right now, after all, were they not supposed to be saving that ability for when the time came for them to take Kyoka Suigetsu out of the equation? So why the hell was Ichigo asking him to use that ability now?

"I understand your concerns. However, this is the only way I can give shinigami powers to any fraccione of mine that isn't named Aaroniero." Ichigo retorted.

"Then, if that ability is revealed as a result?" Muramasa asked warily.

"Right now, that ability is the best solution to our potential problem, however, it isn't the only solution that we have. We'll deal with it when the time comes, and besides, nothing neccessarily has to be revealed. As you know, I erected a barrier around all of our quarters to prevent anyone from snooping around, videorising, or recording our meetings. No one will have heard what we just discussed, and no one will see you use **that** as long as it is done within your quarters." Ichigo explained patiently.

"Hn, you just can't stop yourself can you? You just won't cease to amaze me no matter what will you? Very well then, let us begin." Muramasa said as he turned and walked back into his living room, Ichigo following suit and closing the sliding door and curtains behind him.

As soon as he was sure that the quarters were secured, Muramasa activated his eye technique, the sharingan, his pupils turning blood red with a black shuriken pattern at the centre of the pupil, and just a second after the ocular tranformation followed the appearance of a spiralling portal from his right eye, the portal puking out two male individuals who were garbed in torn up and damaged shinigami garments, one of them spotting long red hair and the other sporting long, blackish-purple hair, both individuals restrained by what appeared to be ropes and cuffs made entirely of spiritual energy, neither of them able to move even a single muscle at all no matter how much they tried.

"There they are, Kano Ashido and Kusaka Sojiro. I was totally against keeping them alive, wondering why you didn't just devour them or at the very least just kill them. I thought that there was absolutely nothing to gain from keeping them alive, I never imagined that their continued survival could become so pivotal to our plans." Muramasa voiced his thoughts out loud.

To say Muramasa was impressed would be the equivalent to saying that Ichigo was a talented kid, yes, a ludicrous understatement. Ichigo's plans for these two were nothing short of genius as far as he was concerned, and the plan, in hindsight, was simple enough. All Muramasa had to do was to use his trump card, his original ability that he had from the time that he himself was still a zanpakutou, an ability known simply as zanpakutou manifestation and manipulation, which was the ability to forcefully manifest the zanpakutou spirit of an enemy, in doing so manipulating the zanpakutou spirit into severing it's ties to its shinigami master.

However, in this case, Ichigo was expecting Muramasa to take it a step furthur. This time, he would not only make the zanpakutou spirits of Ashido and Sojiro severe their ties with their shinigami master, but would be expected to make the zanpakutou spirits accept different people as their masters, and not even different shinigami but different beings entirely, said beings being arrancar.

This might have been a near impossible task under normal circumstances, however, as arrancar were part shinigami, Ichigo was hoping that the zanpakutou spirits would be able to attach themselves to that part of the arrancar's dna and spiritual energy that was shinigami, and once that was done, then Ichigo would simply order his chosen disciples to devour the zanpakutou spirits just like he did to his inner hollow and his own zanpakutou spirit and that would be that.

"Good afternoon, Ichigo-sama. I am a zanpakutou spirit who goes by the name Amateresu, the strongest of the fire type zanpakutos. It is an honour to meet you again, and to serve beneath your feet." Ichigo heard an angelic voice as Muramasa manifested Ashido's zanpakutou spirit, and boy was she a sight to behold, spotting long hair that falls just below her shapely buttocks, the hair made entirely of black flames mind you. Her skin was as creamy as the tastiest of milk shakes and her eyes were made entirely of red flames, her womanly curves easily identifiable even though she was wearing a slightly loose garment, the garment completely black in colour with the exception of the blue flame mortifs licking the bottom of the cloak and the red flame balls all over said cloak.

Needless to say, Ichigo couldn't help but to have his heart and mind littered with lust and wonder at the sight before him, although he was very quick to supress it, after all, as a hollow, he had almost died only two times, once when he had just been born as a hollow, almost dieing at the hands of Shihouin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke, and the second time was when, as a newly transformed adjucas, he fought against Kano Ashido , who incidentally had awakened his zanpakutou, Amateresu, during their battle. So he knew just how dangerous this thing in front of him really was and definitely wasn't about to let his guard down around her, no matter how much he trusted in Muramasa's abilities.

"It is an honour to meet you again too, Amateresu-dono." Ichigo greeted, feeling a slight pang of guilt at what he was about to do to her after she said those words, after all, he was basically about to have her killed, no, even worse, he was about to have her be devoured by one of his subordinates right after he forces her to merge with them.

 _'I didn't feel guilty when I devoured all of those hollows, and certainly didn't feel a shred of remorse when I devoured Zangetsu and Hichigo. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean that I should start feeling guilty now. In fact, as I recall, she took great pleasure in almost turning me into ash when I fought against her and Ashido back then.'_ Ichigo thought as he steeled his resolve, determined to surpress the soft spot that he seemed to have for the fire breathing zanpalutou godess that was prostrating herself before him.

"My name is Hyorinmaru, the greatest ice zanpakutou in existence. It is an honour to meet your acquintance again, Ichigo-sama, and to be of service to you." A masculine voice this time could be heard as a Sojiro's zanpakutou manifested, Ichigo marvelling at the carelessness of Soul Society for failing to get rid of their abomination.

Ichigo was now aware, thanks to Yin and Yang, who were Sojiro's former slaves/partners, that one of the 13 court guard captains was Sojiro's former best friend, and now arch nemesis, Hitsugaya Toshiro, who, incidentally, was also a wielder of Hyorinmaru. Apparently, it was considered by central 46 to be an abomination for two shinigami to wield zanpakutou with the same name and powers, in other words, for two shinigami to have the same zanpakutou. As a result, when it was discovered that Hitsugaya Toshiro and Kusaka Sojiro had the same zanpakutou, it was ordered that the two of them participate in a death match to determine who was worthy of becoming the wielder of Hyorinmaru.

However, said order turned out to only have been a test to see who would forsake themselves and draw their sword against a comrade, and incidentally, that person was Kusaka Sojiro, who was then arrested and detained pending the determination of the date for his execution. However, Sojiro, fueled by vengeance and the will to survive, was able to escape his prison cell and escaped to Hueco Mundo, where he discovered two young, natural arrancar and tricked them into servitude and slavery to him, with the plan to use their talent in his crusade against the Gotei 13, and also was able to turn himself into a visored by studying the dna of the twins. Fortunately for the twins, and unfortunately for Kusaka Sojiro, they eventually ran into a vasto lorde by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo, and the rest, as they say, is all history.

"Nice to meet you again, Hyorinmaru-dono." Ichigo replied respectfully.

"So, who are the lucky two that get to inherit the powers of the strongest fire type zanpakutou and the strongest of the ice type zanpakutou? Oh, and what do you plan to do with Ashido and Sojiro now that they no longer have any shinigami powers?" Muramasa asked curiously.

"According to my intel, Circucci's ressurrection is terribly imbalanced and inconvenient in battle, and there is also the fact that reiatsu wise, she is the second weakest of the pivaron espada. Therefore, I want to give Amateresu to her." Ichigo replied.

"Hmmm...yes, that's a good idea. Being the second weakest and also being the only female in the group, it would be wise to give her the power to be able to effectively defend herself, and to boost her confidence and self worth." Muramasa nodded in agreement.

"Indeed..." Ichigo trailed off with his hand on his chin as he thought about the female pivaron's situation.

"And Hyorinmaru?" Muramasa asked curiously.

"Hyorinmaru, from what I have learned from my meeting with Aizen, is an incredibly powerful zanpakutou, but with that comes a great deal of disadvantages in that it is incredibly difficult to master as the bankai has a time limit and requires a great degree of mastery over spiritual energy in order to control. So, from what I understand, even though he is in fact the third weakest of the pivaron espada, Dordonni Alessandro Del Socaccio actually is the most skilled combatant in the pivaron espada and has an incredible amount of discipline and work ethic. It is also said that he is an exremely prideful man." Ichigo left it there, hoping, no, knowing that Muaramasa would be able to figure out the rest.

"I see. Yes, I wolly agree with you. If Dordonni really does fit that description, then he is the one that will be able to master Hyorinmaru's powers. He has all the right qualities. His pride means that he won't allow himself to fail, his combat skills mean that he will be the most effective with the weapon and his discipline and work ethic mean that he will work tirelessly at it until he gets it right. And finally, the fact that he is currently the third weakest means that he has a lot to gain from merging his soul with Hyorinmaru, and therefore will dedicate a lot of his time to learning all he can about the sword's powers. Your ability to choose the right man for the job is unrivaled, Ichigo-sama." Muramasa concluded, even though he already knew that for quite a long time now.

"Still, what about Ganterbaine Mosqueda? The gap between him and the others will only widen because of this? And what about the others? Won't they feel it is unfair that they didn't get any gifts from you whilst the others basically received manor from heaven?" Muramasa asked with concern.

"Not at all. Ashido and Sojiro were already incredibly strong even without their zanpakuto abilities, Sojiro thanks to the fact that he is a visored, and Ashido because of all the years he spent battling Adjucas class hollows in Hueco Mundo. I intend to feed Ashido and Sojiro to Ganterbaine Mosqueda. That should give him a power boost on par with the one Dordoni and Cirucci will be getting." Ichigo explained to Muramasa, who for the life of him couldn't stop nodding in agreement and of course, awe at how far Ichigo had planned all this out in such a short time, even though he still had some concerns and questions that he wanted to ask, and was about to ask.

"Okay, that's all well and good, but that still leaves Wonderweiss, Zommari, Luppi, Szayel Aporro, and Rudborne. What do you plan to do for them?" Muramasa asked.

"I've already done a lot for Wonderweiss, I gave him his mind back. That alone, should make him a far better and more effective warrior, and should improve his quality of life significantly. As for Szayel, I'm letting him live and granting him the honour of becoming part of the strongest fraccione to ever exist. He should be grateful that he gets to live after what he and Noitra did to Neliel. Besides, the pivaron's migration from the lower levels means that there is a large vacancy and also a security blind spot from underneath the castle. I was thinking that I give that space to Szayel so that he can move his lab there. From what I hear, he has run out of space for his lab equipment and test subjects, and the pivaron quarters are more than ten times bigger than his current set-up. So that should sort him out for the time being and incidentally, he and his lab rats/assistants get to cover that security blind spot." Ichigo explained.

"Fair enough. I doubt he'll make any fuss about it, especially when he realises that you know of his involvement in Nel's disappearance. And you're right about Wonderweiss too." The primera agreed.

"Yes, well, I will personally train all of my pivaron, so Zammori and Luppi will benefit from that as well. It's actually a compliment to them that they don't need any extra gifts from me, because they are already so strong and well balanced. All they need now is to spar with a strong and skilled opponent, of which there will be many in our squad, and there's also me of course. I'll have to however pay special attention to Rudborne. I have great plans for him and his powers. If he takes well to my teachings and the experiements that we will conduct together, then Hueco Mundo as you know it is about to change drastically. He has the potential to change the whole of Hueco Mundo as we know it..."

"I have no idea what you mean by that, however, as wonderful as all of this sounds, I still have my concerns. Are you absolutely sure that giving all of these people so much power is such a wise idea?" Muramasa asked with a grave undertone.

"I'm one hundred percent sure. Remember that these people are all here because Aizen used to Hogyogou to give them far more power than they had before they met him. If I want to earn the same trust and respect that Aizen carries around here, then I need to prove that I am able to do the same or better for them. They need to know that they have a lot to gain from being associated with me. This will be very important for when the time comes for us to get rid of Aizen." Ichigo explained with patience and confidence.

"Your logic is undeniable. Forgive me for my lack of faith. I should not have doubted you." Muramasa bowed his head apologetically, Ichigo rolling his eyes at how stubborn Muramasa was, how many times did he have to tell the guy that they were friends and not master and servant.

"It's okay Muramasa. You know how much I value your input. Don't ever shy away from expressing your opinions with me." Ichigo retorted.

"Hai, Ichigo-sama. What about the others? Should I tell them about our plans?" Muramasa asked.

"No...I was just about to pay a visit to Nel and the twins anyway. I'll tell them everything in person. They are going to need to be re-assured that I am not deserting or replacing them, and for that, I need to see them in person. Besides...I really miss them...a lot..."

 **End of Chapter**

 **So...that's the end of chapter 2, and yes, I am eternally sorry that it took so long to update. I will begin typing chapter 3 later today, so I mean business.**

 **So Ichigo is not wasting any time making his mark in Las Noches. Aizen will be in for a big surprise when he returns.**

 **The pivaron espada are now the Zero Squad, and it looks like they gonna become a strong as some of the espada pretty soon, Ichigo seems to be basically creating his own personal espada, and remember that he still has four loyal members even within the actual espada. Although to be fair, Aizen still has a the bulk of the army on his side and he has Gin and Tousen too.**

 **Will Ichigo and Aizen end up in a civil war or will they find common ground and go to war with the Gotei 13 together? Stay tuned to find out more.**


End file.
